Lone Black Wolf
by animerox023
Summary: I cradled his head in my lap and moved his hair off of his face. His cold lifeless eyes stared at nothing as I stared at them, the pain in my heart growing stronger, along with the rain. I could feel the tears streaming down my face mixing with the rain but I didn't give a damn. I howled my sadness and anger into the sky damning the world to hell for all that has happened to us.
1. Lone Black Wolf

'_The snow is so beautiful in the winter'_, the girl thought as she laid in an open field on her back.

She continued to look up at the sky for a while until she realized she couldn't move her body that much. Most likely from all the places over her body where she had been deeply cut, stabbed, and bitten. These wounds were making the angel soft snow around the girl to turn a dark crimson red and some of her hair was getting soaked from her blood as well. Her breathing was barely above a whisper and her heart was beating slower and slower by the minute.

'_Death is kind of a peaceful thing. It's like you're going to sleep except you never wake up again.'_

With what little strength she had left she looked around at the damage her and her last enemy caused. In the open field there were big and little craters, fallen trees, trees with dents and scratches, and her two katanas were imbedded in the ground not too far from where she laid.

'_Maybe all of this evidence will disappear along with our bodies.' _She thought as she looked the person who had scarred her for life. The person's name was Orochimaru. '_Hopefully his body will get eaten by the crows and his soul burn in hell for all eternity.' _As she looked at his body it was barely recognizable because she had done so much damage to him with her katanas, jutsus, and her wolf form. The battle between them felt like it was going to last an eternity because they were both equal to each other, but he got too cocky and that was when she used the opportunity to _**end his life.**_ She had to twist away from him because her head was getting too heavy to support.

'_It's a damn shame that I won't be able to see spring again.' _Spring was her favorite season, the world would come back from the winter death prison into a world where there was color everywhere and everything was so warm. Trees were drowned in a sea of green, birds would fill the air with their music, and the flowers would make you go color blind because there was so many. Just the thought of the season could make her smile but she hasn't smiled in what seemed like forever so she just did a weak smirk. Suddenly the white sky she was looking at was getting blurry and black around the edge of her vision.

'_Looks like I don't have a lot of time left but I'm happy with the life that I have had. Even though I have made so many mistakes, I have no regrets.' _She thought as she was ready for the darkness to consume her forever. Her body was starting to go limp, her vision getting darker, and her heartbeat was getting slower until eventually it-

"AKINA!" a voice screamed into the clearing.

'_Itachi?'_


	2. The Village Hidden in the Leaf

_**4 1/2 years earlier…**_

The Third Hokage sat at his desk filling out his usual paperwork that laid in their neat never-ending piles that he has always stared at for so many years. Although today was going to be different because he was expecting a new student soon.

'_It has been a long time since the village has had new students from a different country, hopefully she will fit right in with the others.' _Now finding a distraction from the paperwork he quickly pulled out the student's file that was sent over from her village, The Hidden Mist Village.

_Name: Akina Yukito_

_Age: 12_

_D.O.B: May 16_

_Clan: Yukito (Deceased)_

_Village: Hidden Mist_

_IQ: 116_

_Talents (0-10)_

_Ninjutsu: 8_

_Taijutsu: 7_

_Genjutsu: 7_

_Chakra Control: 9_

_Chakra Censoring: 10_

'_So far so good, she will make an excellent addition to the Leaf Village.' _As the Third Hokage was reading the rest of her file there was a soft knock coming from his door and he almost didn't hear it.

"Yes, come in." The door opened and revealed a young girl who had long midnight black hair, caramel-like skin, and dark piercing violet eyes that looked somewhat apprehensive. She was wearing a white tank top with a black half jacket over it, black shorts that went down to her knees, and she was wearing black flip-flops that had an orange-colored thong. Just one look at her and he suddenly felt like he had déjà vu as a familiar face popped into his mind.

'_She looks just like her.'_

_**Akina's POV**_

I stood outside of the Hokage's office because I was slightly nervous and yet excited that I was moving to such a peaceful village, compared to how the Mist Village was. Most of the time there was only mist, tiny hints of sunshine here and there, and it was a really depressing place.

'_Alright Akina enough with the past this place is going to be different.' _With that thought I softly knocked on the door but still loud enough for him to hear.

"Yes, come in.", said a voice from the other side of the door. I opened the door and saw the Hokage sitting at his desk that had a lot of neat piles of paper on his desk. I closed the door behind me and walked towards the front of his desk until I was about a foot or two away from it.

"Hello, I am the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. What is your name?", asked the Hokage-sama. His face showed his age and how much he has been through by the wrinkles around his eyes and his mouth but he still looked like he could take anyone down with just a flick of his hand.

"I'm Akina Yukito and I'm very thankful that you're letting me move here Hokage-sama.", I said with a small smile while giving him a respectful bow. My long midnight hair covered my face and almost touched the floor, but when I straightened myself up my hair is actually a little bit past my waist with layers higher up. I scanned the view behind the Hokage to take in the beautiful sight of the village. From what I could see there were so many people outside in the market with happy faces and they were all talking to each other as if they were one big family. I quickly took my eyes off of the sight so I could pay attention to what the Hokage-sama was going to say.

"Even though you have learned a lot from your home village, from what I read in your file, we will still need you to attend the academy. There you can make friends with the kids your age and we can better decide what team you would work best with.", he said with this grandfather-like smile.

"That's fine with me and thank you for everything Hokage-sama.", I said fully bowing.

"There is no need to thank me it's my pleasure. Before I forget here is your leaf headband and the key to your apartment, I will have someone show you how to get there and to the academy. She is also one of the Jounin who will be assigned a team from your age so she could possibly become your sensei.", he said while handing me the key and headband. I placed my new headband in my book bag that I always carry around so that I can always have a place for my sketchbook, food, and drawing utensils. Meanwhile I put my new key in my pocket so that I wouldn't lose it in my book bag. There was a knock at the door when I finished putting my stuff away; it was a woman who looked to be in her early to mid 20's. She had beautiful crimson red eyes with purple eye shadow, her hair was a lighter shade of black than mine, and she had somewhat pale skin that made her eyes pop even more. She looked at me and gave me a smile while I noticed she had red lipstick on, "Hi my name is Kurenai Yuhi."

"Akina Yukito.", I said while shaking hands with her.

"Well we better get going or else you're going to be late to school." She said before she bowed to the Hokage and walked to the door.

I bowed to him as well and followed Kurenai out the door. We went down a couple of hallways and stairs until we made it outside into the bustling street of the village. Kurenai led us down a road to the right where you could almost see the sign of the academy. We walked down the street for a couple of minutes before Kurenai asked a question.

"So what village did you come from?", asked Kurenai with curiosity in her voice.

"I came from the Village Hidden in the Mist.", I answered.

She looked at me and asked, "So what made you come here?"

I kept looking ahead but I know my eyes showed a little bit of sadness in them, "Personal reasons."

From there the rest of the walk was a little bit awkward until we reached the academy. We went up a few flights of stairs and down a couple of hallways until we stopped at a door. From the outside you could hear kids talking and yelling at each other while the teacher was trying to calm them down.

"Enjoy your class Akina and hopefully I'll see you around ok."

"Alright and thank you Kurenai-sensei for taking me here.", I said and gave her a little bow.

She smiled and walked back the way that we had just came. Until she had disappeared around the corner did I face the door and knocked. Not long after I knocked a young man opened the door, he had brown hair and eyes and he looked to be in his early 20's. On his nose there was a healed scar going horizontally across it but it looked to be old. He looked at me smiled, "Hi you must be Akina Yukito, my name is Iruka and I'll be your teacher."

"Hi Iruka-sensei," I said as I entered the room. The room suddenly became very quiet once they realized that someone new had entered. As they all looked at me I could hear people whispering things like: _Who is she?, Where is she from?, Does she have a boyfriend?, _and the most famous question_ Is she wearing contacts?_.

"Alright class we have a new student today. Can you please tell us your name and something about you?", asked Iruka.

"My name is Akina Yukito and my favorite song is 'Sex on Fire' by Kings of Leon.", I said in my calm voice.

"Well Akina you can sit in the back right next to the window and next to Naruto. Naruto can you please raise your hand.", asked Iruka-sensei as a boy in an orange attire raised his hand. He had sun-blonde hair with bright sea-blue eyes that held a lot of life in them. Also it looked like he had some sort of whiskers on each side of his face.

'_A little odd to have whiskers, but whatever.'_

"YEAH! I get to sit next to the new girl!", he said in a very loud and excited voice. Even when I sat down next to him he still kept talking. "Hi my name is Naruto Uzumaki and one day I'm going to become Hokage and earn the respect of everyone in the village, BELIEVE IT!"

"Naruto stop pestering her. She hasn't even been here for 10 minutes and already you're talking her ear off.", said a girl on the other side of Naruto. She had long bubblegum pink hair that shined in the sunlight, which shows how much work she put in to it, but her teal eyes portrayed the intelligence she must have.

"Hi my name is Sakura Haruno, I'm sorry about Naruto he's such a blabbermouth.", she said to me with a sympathetic look.

"Oi Sak-u-ra, why do you have to call me names.", said a pouting Naruto.

"That's okay I don't mind.", I said looking at her. My attention turned to Iruka-sensei as he was about to announce something.

"Alright class in one week you will all take a test that will determine who will become your teammates in your three-man cell. So I suggest that you pay attention while we're reviewing everything that we have learned.", he said sounding very excited while Naruto on the other hand looked like he was gonna be sick.

"Oh crap I am so screwed! What am I going to do?", he whispered very loudly. In front of us I could see Sakura's vein pulsing and when she turned around her face looked like she was about to beat the daylight out of Naruto if he didn't be quiet, "Naruto will you-"

"Shut up dobe."

I looked in front of me to the seat next to Sakura and saw a boy that was leaning his head on his hands with his elbows on the desk. His eyes were a deep onyx black that barely held any emotion, but clearly showed annoyance, and he had pale skin. Although his hair is what really caught my attention, it reminded me of a cockatoo's hair style.

'_Wow nice hair style.'_

"Aww Sasuke-kun is so awesome," Sakura said with hearts in her eyes as she stared longingly at Sasuke. Judging by Sakura's reaction and all the girls that keep looking at him he must be the village heartthrob. Now it looked like Naruto was about to knock the daylights out of Sasuke. Instead Sasuke ignored both Sakura's gaze and Naruto's glare and turned to face me.

"The name's Sasuke, Sasuke Uchiha.", he said in a voice with hardly any emotion.

"Akina, Akina Yukito.", I said with boredom in my voice. He looked somewhat shocked that I didn't care and relieved that I wasn't all over him or bowing at his feet. Naruto looked happy and excited at my reaction as well and Sakura had shock and jealousy written all over her face because Sasuke talked to me.

"Ha looks like somebody with common sense doesn't want to become your fan girl.", Naruto whispered to Sasuke.

"Guys in the back be quiet and pay attention.", Iruka-sensei said causing some of the other kids to snicker but most of the girls looked like they wanted to kill me just because Sasuke had acknowledged me.

'_Day one and already people, particularly the girls, want to kill me or date me. Oh how life is full of surprises.'_, I thought while sighing. For the rest of the class Iruka-sensei went over different kinds of weapons you could use, what chakra is, and all this other stuff that I had already learned. During the time that Iruka-sensei wasn't looking in my direction I mostly spent my time staring out of the window next to me. This place must have had sun all the time because there was so much life here and there was barely a cloud in the sky. This was definitely a big change in scenery compared to all of the mist you get in the Mist Village. All in all I think this place isn't that bad so far.

"Alright guys it's lunch time be back in an hour okay.", Iruka-sensei said as a lot of the kids rushed out the door. I got up and grabbed my stuff and was about to walk out the door until Naruto came up to me.

"Hey Akina I was wondering since you're new here if you wanted to eat lunch with me so that I could introduce you to everyone else.", he asked with his big smiling face. I thought about for a second and said, "Sure, why not?"


	3. Wakeup Call!

**6 days later….**

"WAKE-UP NARUTOOO!", I yelled into Naruto's room.

"AAHHHHH!", he yelled as he fell face first onto the floor. His eyes were wide open and his face was as pale as a sheet. He looked hysterical. I was sitting on his window ledge laughing my ass off as he glared at me with somewhat sleepy eyes. On my first day Naruto offered to walk with me and Kurenai to where my apartment was we learned that my apartment was just down the street from where Naruto's was. This made him _very _excited.

"Akina what did you do that for?", he whined getting up off the floor.

"I was at class waiting for you but you weren't there so I came here and that was about 10 minutes ago so now you have about 20 minutes before class starts.", I said as I beamed my smile at him. His face went pale again and the next thing I knew he was running around his room picking up clothes and sniffing to see if they were clean. _'Ew doesn't he keep his clean and dirty clothes separate?'_ As he was digging through clothes one of his pants landed on my face and I thought I was going to throw up because it smelled like he wore it _**every day for a month**_._ ' Yeah after I'm done puking my breakfast I am going to clean this place until it sparkles and makes him blind.'_

"Okay I'm ready, let's go before we're late!", he said jumping out the window and landed on the ground. I jumped as well and followed him as we raced towards the academy. As we were running we ran past the ramen shop but Naruto smelled the ramen and stopped to smell it like he hasn't smelled it in years.

"Akina can we please sit down and have a bowl for breakfast. This is the best place to get ramen.", he said licking his lips and walking inside. I grabbed him by the back of his collar to stop him and started dragging him to the academy all the while he's screaming: _MY RAMEN!, Let me go Akina!, Please I'll do anything I-I'll even clean your room!_

I just kept rolling my eyes as we just made it to the academy and I kept dragging him through the hallways and up the stairs. He got knocked on the head once or twice by a step but he was still breathing so he was ok. Once we reached our classroom door I shoved Naruto in front me, so he wouldn't escape, and walked into the classroom. As we walked in I saw that almost everyone was here and we still had 5 minutes to spare before class started. Iruka-sensei took notice of me pushing Naruto and sent me a silent thank you by nodding. I nodded back at him and sat Naruto down and sat on his left next to the window.

"Thanks for getting me here on time; I've never been on time for class 3 days in a row. Although I did get knocked on the head by a step.", he said grinning/glaring at me.

"Anytime Naruto.", I said just grinning at him. For the rest of the few minutes that we had I was looking out of the window and Naruto was trying to get Sakura's attention until Iruka-sensei started to announce something.

"Alright class, remember that tomorrow you will take your exams to see which of your classmates will become your teammates. This just another stepping stone of the journey to becoming a real shinobi of The Leaf Village so I hope you all have studied hard this past week. For right now though we're going to work on the Transformation jutsu so everyone come and make a line up front and I will call your name.", he said. Everyone got up and formed a line in the front of the room waiting to be called. "Okay first we have Sakura Haruno." Sakura went up and transformed into Iruka-sensei which she hoped it would impress Sasuke. Of course Sasuke just ignored her and transformed into Iruka-sensei as well. Naruto was next and I never expected what he was about to do. He transformed into a naked female version of himself but there was smoke covering the private areas. It caused Iruka-sensei to have a major nose bleed and he started yelling at Naruto about how dumb it was and how he'll never be successful if he doesn't get serious. On the sidelines I was somewhat laughing because it was very funny to watch but most of the others were annoyed at the display. I was called next and instead of transforming into Iruka-sensei I transformed into the Third Hokage. For only meeting the Hokage once I did a pretty good job and Iruka was impressed as well. Naruto was a little down for the rest class but I wrote him a note saying that his jutsu wasn't dumb it was funny. He gave an appreciative smile and started paying attention to Iruka-sensei. The lunch bell sounded so Naruto and I went to eat under a tree that wasn't far from the academy. We sat down and soon Naruto started rambling about what kind of ramen he should get after school but I was only half- paying attention and half-day dreaming. As he was babbling on a large group of girls, including Sakura and Ino, ran up to us. Naruto pointed out who she was on my first day at lunchtime when she tried to flirt with Sasuke and failed.

"Have you seen Sasuke-kun I lost him and I need to talk to him?", said Sakura.

"What do you need to talk to him about billboard-brow? I'm the one who needs to talk to him.", said a jealous Ino.

"Oh please Ino-pig Sasuke would never even talk to you didn't you learn that from the last time." They kept going on back and forth at each other but as much as it would be hilarious to see these two fight they were really getting on my nerves at the moment.

"Yeah we saw him a few minutes ago he went down that path and then made a right.", I said loud enough that it caught all of the girls' attention and they ran like bats out of hell in the direction I told them to.

"Whew good job Akina but when did Sasuke ever walk by here?", Naruto asked very confused.

"Actually he didn't he's up there.", I said pointing up at the tree we were sitting under. Leaves rustled as the raven haired heartthrob himself came out of hiding and landed on the ground next to us. He looked a little bit tired and annoyed because of his crowd of fan girls.

"Thanks for that or else I never would have gotten rid of all of them.", he said with his usual monotone voice.

"I mostly did it so they could go away and shut up so need to thank me. I mean I know being the village heartthrob has benefits but to deal with the fans has got to be the worst thing ever."

"Wait how did you know that he was up there?", Naruto asked.

"When you were talking about ramen I heard something and slowly looked around and saw Sasuke getting in the tree.", I answered.

"You actually heard me but I was being very silent.", Sasuke asked with actual emotion in his voice that sounded like curiosity. 

"Well that's because I just have better hearing than others and the fact that your clothes sort of stick out again green so yeah."

" Also what do _you _know about the benefits of a heartthrob Akina? Were you the heartthrob back at your village?" Naruto asked with a lot of curiosity since I don't talk about my home village alot.

"Well although I had to break a few hearts I wasn't exactly the girl-friend type to some people.", I explained.

Surprisingly Sasuke asked, "Then what type of girl are you?," as if he was trying to figure me out.

I answered with, "Well I'm the type who would rather be playing video games then getting my hair or my nails done. I like to eat a lot of food but surprisingly I hardly gain any weight. I am the type who will protect my village and friends until the end and protect my ninja way. Also to become an Anbu Captain like my mom was, that's the type that I am." It became pretty quiet when I was finished as they digested it until it was broken by the sound of the bell signaling that lunch was over. As we walked back to the school there was a girl who wasn't paying attention and she walked right into Naruto.

"I -I-I'm s-so s-sorry Naruto-k-kun.", the girl whispered.

"That's okay Hinata. Oh Akina come meet Hinata, Hinata this is Akina my new friend.", he said with a lot of pride while pulling Hinata towards me. The poor girl's face was bright red from her blush since Naruto was touching her and she looked like she was going to faint in another second or two.

'_Aw she and Naruto would be a cute couple.'_

"Hi Hinata I'm Akina Yukito.", I said extending my hand towards her. She slowly extended her hand as well saying, "I-I'm Hinata Hyuuga it's n-nice to m-meet you." She had short violet hair that was the same shade as my eyes, her pale violet eyes but didn't have a pupil, and her skin was pale but not that sickly pale color.

"H-hello as w-well S-Sasuke-k-kun.", Hinata said turning to him. He replied to her with his usual "Hn", that I learned is the only thing he says to other people, and we all continued on our way back to the class room to prepare for tomorrow's exam.

'_I hope I get a good team tomorrow because so help me Kami if I'm on the team same as Sasuke and one of his fan girls I just might cry. At least put me on a team with Naruto or Hinata so I won't die of insanity.'_


	4. Graduation

' "_Mommy?", said a little girl walking out of her bedroom. She looked to be only 5 years old since she was wearing baby blue teddy bear pajamas and was holding her favorite stuffed animal Kyla, an orange tiger with bright green eyes. She had woken up when she heard a loud bang coming from either downstairs or outside. She also felt a growing emptiness in her heart as if something was missing and that something evil was going on. Slowly she walked toward the top of the steps and whispered down the stairs, "Mommy, are you down there?" There was no answer only an eerie silence. The little girl decided to go down the steps to see if maybe her mom was down there. Almost every step she took the stair groaned a little so she tried stepping down softer just in case if something was wrong. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she nearly dropped Kyla. To her right where the living room was, all of the furniture was lying around the room in pieces and lamps laid broken on the floor. There was a large amount of blood soaking in to the carpet and splattered all over the walls. The little girl was in such a state of shock that she couldn't even scream, never the less even breathe. All she could do was go around the horror scene to go into the kitchen._

_Or what should have been the kitchen._

_There was a huge hole in the wall of the back of the house. Most of the appliances were destroyed and her mother's favorite dishes were scattered and broken all over the hardwood floor. In the middle of the room, where a table used to be, was her mother's faithful partner and best friend, Nakia. She was a full grown adult female wolf, although larger than most, and she was practically her aunt. Her lifeless blue eyes stared into the nothingness while small rivers of blood still poured over her smoky-colored fur and out of her mouth. The little girl dropped Kyla and ran to Nakia and started to shake her body._

"_Come on wake up aunt Ki-Ki we have to find my mom! Why won't you wake up?", yelled the little girl as she sobbed. Ever since she could remember Nakia had always been there with her, whenever her mother had to leave Nakia would be the one to watch over her like a second mom. Whenever she would have a nightmare or wanted someone to play with her Nakia was always there to do the job. Now she was dead and she wasn't coming back._

_Suddenly there was an explosion coming from the backyard, along with other noises that she couldn't place. Again she felt the emptiness in her heart grow stronger and she was con fused as to why she felt so heart-broken and lonely from the emptiness. The girl got up, wiped away the tears, grabbed Kyla and then ran outside thinking that her mom was still alive fighting whoever did this to Aunt Ki-Ki. As she ran into the dark night she could still hear the noises and they sounded as if they were coming from the forest that lived behind her house, but they weren't as loud as before. Still in her thoughts the little girl suddenly tripped on something, while at the same time dropping Kyla, and nearly threw up when she turned to see what she tripped on. Lying in the grass was her Aunt Ki-Ki's mate, Naruke. His body had deep cuts all over his body making the blood stain his tan fur as his once piercing golden eyes held the same lifelessness as Nakia. Naruke lived next door to her with his partner Nanu. Nanu was a close friend to her mother and would often hang out with her to play and teach her things whether it involved training or life skills. He was always gentle with her but always made sure that she knew the difference between right and wrong. He was like the dad she had always wanted. She hoped he was still alive but when she looked at his house she only saw the back door hanging on its hinges and their yard soaked with blood._

'_Maybe Nanu and Naruke was trying to help my mom and Aunt Ki-Ki.' , she thought as she ran in the forest forgetting all about Kyla. Mist was starting to settle in around the forest making it harder to see but luckily she had good hearing to guide her to the noise. As she ran there were tree roots sticking out of the ground making her trip occasionally but it didn't stop her from making it to the clearing where the origin of the noises were coming from. Fortunately the mist was clearer here so she could see more clearly. _

_Unfortunately the mist allowed her to see the blood, __**a lot of blood**__. Her family's blood, her mother's blood._

_All around the clearing were the corpses of her clan, The Yukito Clan. She saw the people she has known since birth lifeless on the cold blood soaked ground, their eyes showing the emptiness of life. Her aunts, uncles, and friends were all gone. Out of the couple of hundreds of the clan, only two remained; her and her mother. She could see her mother and another figure standing in the middle of the clearing surrounded by the bodies. Her mother was crouching on one knee wounded and the unknown figure was standing across from her, looking unharmed. The girl and her mother looked almost exactly the same. They both had the same face structure, same caramel-colored skin, and the same purple eyes except her mother's eyes were a lighter shade. The only difference was the fact that her mother had rich dark-brown curly hair while the little girl had midnight black straight hair. _

_Her mother's name was Mayuri Yukito, mother to Akina Yukito. Mayuri was the strongest of the clan so she became the Alpha Female of the Yukito Clan. The Yukito Clan was known for their natural companionship to wolves and they were even stronger than the Inuzuka Clan in the Leaf Village. Mayuri was once an Anbu Caption for nearly 15 years and hardly ever failed a mission. Everyone admired her not only because of her strength but because she was kind-hearted, serious when needed, made the best decisions for everyone, and was the role model of every kid's dream. Now she looked seriously wounded, exhausted, and on the brink of death._

"_MOMMY!", Akina yelled as she ran towards her mother. Mayuri whipped her head towards Akina, with fear in her eyes that was hardly ever present, and yelled, "Akina sweetie stop! Run away from here and don't look back!''The figure also turned towards Akina and she thought she could see his mouth turn into a smirk through his mask. He mumbled something that Akina couldn't hear but her mother's eyes widened and then suddenly they became lifeless orbs. The emptiness swallowed her whole as she realized she was the only one left.'_

_She was alone._

_**DREAM END…**_

"NO!", I screamed to my empty room. I was sweating like crazy, which was weird since I was only wearing a plain black t-shirt and green bootie shorts, and my breathing was labored. To my left where my neon purple clock sat on my nightstand it read 3:00 a.m. I sat up to get out of bed and went into the kitchen to get a cold glass of water. My kitchen is small but not too small so I was able to fit a medium-sized table and a couple of chairs in it. I sat down in one of the chairs and laid my head in my hands, my glass cup sitting in front of me.

'_Why does this dream always come back? I just want some peace once in awhile.'_, I thought. This dream has haunted me since the day it happened and it just likes to randomly to pop up in my dreams whenever it feels like it. I kept sipping my class of water hoping it would calm me down but I was still too anxious from the dream, so I got up to grab a sweater and walked towards my window that faced the street. From there I climbed on to the roof of my apartment building since my apartment is at the top. The stars where still out though the sun was going to start to rise in maybe an hour or so. Even so they helped to calm my nerves as I sat there staring at them and I allowed the cool early morning breeze to wash over me making the moment even more peaceful.

"Hey what are you doing up this late?" Somewhat startled I quickly whipped my head towards the source of the unknown voice. Standing to the right of me was boy who had red upside down triangles on his cheeks, messy brown hair, and his eyes had this playful animalistic glint in them. He was wearing a grey jacket that had fur around the hood and black sweatpants. I now recognized him from my class when I had asked Naruto about who our classmates were on my first day at lunchtime.

'_Good thing I put sweatpants on before leaving.'_, I thought.

"I could ask you the same question.", I replied which only made him chuckle.

"My dogs were making too much noise so I had to go for a walk and as I was walking I saw you sitting up here all by your lonesome. By the way my name is Kiba Inuzuka.", he said while extending his hand. I extended my hand as well and said, "Akina Yukito. I was too restless because I want to see who my teammates will be."

'_He doesn't need to know about my personal issues, no one needs those images in their head.'_

"Don't worry about it I'm sure you'll get great teammates and I might be one of them.", he said with a smirk. Kiba sat down next to me but not too close that he invaded my personal space, which I was thankful for. We both sat there for at least 30 minutes and I learned a lot about Kiba. Since he was a part of the Inuzuka clan he always had dogs around him his whole life, has a mother and sister, and his playful personality reminded me of a puppy. I did tell him things about me as well but I didn't tell a lot since I just met him but I thought we were getting along just fine and that we could become good friends in the future. Although sadly we had to part ways so we could get some more shut-eye.

"Thanks Kiba, it was greet to meet you and getting to know you.", I said while giving him a hand to get up.

"No problem Akina. I hope that maybe we'll be on the same team to do this more often.", he said with hope in his eyes.

"We'll see Kiba." He then jumped to the ground and started his walk home but gave me a wave good-bye and then he was gone. I waved back as well and then climbed back into my apartment. Talking to Kiba had made me forget all about the dream so I was able to sleep peacefully for the next 2 hours.

**The Exam….**

"Remember everyone today is the day where many of you will become Genin, the first step of many to become a true Shinobi of The Leaf Village. First we will start with a written exam and then I will call one student out at a time to go into the other room for the second part of the exam." Iruka-sensei was passing out the exam as he told everyone what they're going to do. Everyone looked at least a little bit nervous but the way Naruto was chewing down his nails into stubs, and almost tried to get mine, made him look like he was going to lose it. I gave him a good pat on the shoulder hoping to reassure him that it was going to be okay. He gave me an appreciative look but he still looked very nervous and pale. When I received my test I looked at it and saw that there were only ten questions to answer and they didn't look that long. Although they were a little difficult I had them done in about 25-30 minutes, which was only a few minutes before Sasuke finished, so I felt accomplished. They asked questions like; if your enemy is at point A 50 yards from where you are which is point B and you are 20 feet above their position what angle would you have to measure to make sure your kunai will wound them. As for the rest of the time that we had I just stared out the window hoping that everyone wouldn't take too long.

About 15-30 minutes later everyone was finished with their exam and was waiting for their name to be called. Iruka came in and called Kiba's name first, although as he was walking towards the door something white popped out of his jacket and landed at my feet. It was a cute white puppy that looked to be young and was begging for attention. Of course my weak will towards everything cute caved in as I picked him up and sat him on my lap to scratch his back and his ears. The little guy was practically purring from all of the attention.

"Wow I've never seen Akamaru do this to somebody he never met before.", Kiba said with a shocked face.

"I don't mind I love canines.", I said while giving Akamaru a belly rub.

"Since it looks like he's in good hands I'll let him stay with you until I come back okay."

"Alright I'll take good care of him." Akamaru looked like a really happy puppy since he seemed to really like it when I scratched behind his left ear. Even when Kiba came back with his new headband Akamaru refused to leave my lap which left Kiba in total confusion. One after the other kids went into the other room and came back with their new headbands either on their forehead or around their neck. Luckily I remembered to leave the headband Hokage-sama gave to me at home since the day I got it. Soon it was my turn to go in the room which made Akamaru whine a little bit when I gave him back to Kiba. When I went in Iruka-sensei and another man I have never seen before was sitting behind a wooden table in an otherwise empty room.

"Alright Akina I read in the files from your home village that you are really good but all we want to see is the Clone Jutsu and that will determine if you pass. Also this is Mizuki-sensei.", Iruka-sensei said pointing to the guy sitting next to him. Mizuki looked to be a few years older than Iruka-sensei and he had nearly pure white hair but something seemed wrong about him. I don't know what it is he just seems suspicious.

"Okay sensei. Clone Jutsu!" Soon I was surrounded by 5 copies of myself and they looked really good.

"Wow she made 5 perfect clones when everyone else only managed 3, you really are impressive.", said Mizuki. I thanked him and made the clones go away.

"Akina you passed and even though the Hokage-sama gave you a headband already we have to give you another one. Also can you tell Naruto to come here please, he is the last one.", said Iruka-sensei. I grabbed my headband and tied it around my neck like I did with the first one and nodded to Iruka-sensei. As I walked back into the classroom I stood in the doorway seeing that Naruto was the only one left. Knowing it was finally his turn he got up out of his seat and walked towards the door stopping next to me.

"Congratulations on passing Akina hopefully I'll pass as well and maybe we'll be on the same team.", he said sounding very excited yet nervous.

"Don't worry Naruto you'll pass with flying colors. I'll be outside waiting for you.", I said and gave him a good luck hug. Outside everyone that had passed was showing their parents their new headbands and some of the parents were crying. A small pain entered my heart as I watched all of the mothers tell their son/daughter how proud they were and that they'll be the greatest ninja ever. Then I heard something that made my skin boil.

"Did you hear they're still letting that Naruto try to pass.", said a parent.

"I know, how can they let that _monster _pass and maybe get stronger and take over the village."' said another. Hearing these things made me want to kick all of their asses for talking about Naruto that way, because Naruto is a human being he isn't a monster. Suddenly I realized Naruto has been inside for awhile.

'_Maybe he came outside and is looking for me.' _I scanned the crowd looking for a bright orange jump suit. I found him sitting on a swing in the shade with his head hung forward. Immediately I knew Naruto didn't pass. I walked over to him and patted his back. He only looked up at me with so much sadness and disappointment and hung his head back down. Not only that but the parents were still giving him the evil eye but when they caught my eye they quickly looked away.

"Why is it I can never do anything right? Why do they always look at me like I'm some kind of monster? Do I look like a monster Akina?", Naruto asked me. I looked straight into his dull blue eyes and said, "Naruto you are anything but a monster. You are bright, energetic, and the most original person I have ever met." With that his eyes brightened up and he got off the swing.

"Thanks Akina, what would I do without you?", he asked. I only shrugged and asked, "Do you want some ramen from Ichiraku's, my treat?"

" WOOHOO! What are we waiting for?", he yelled into the air and he started to run towards his beloved ramen. Eventually when I got there Naruto was already on his third bowl and he didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon. I just sat down and ordered my bowl of chicken ramen and talked to Naruto. We sat there for about an hour or two until it was time to head home. When I walked into my apartment the first thing I did was head to my couch, laid down, and fell asleep.

An hour or two later I woke up with a bad feeling in my gut that something was wrong with Naruto. I quickly ran down the street to his apartment and jumped up to his window but I didn't see him lying in bed. _'Where are you Naruto?' _I ran to the ramen shop to see if he was there but the people who worked there said they haven't seen him since we left earlier. I ran around the village streets looking for that orange jumpsuit until I decided that maybe he went into the forest to train or something. Luckily the Hokage-sama told me they had designated training areas but when I checked them all no one was there. Suddenly I heard rustling through the trees as if somebody was running. Using what I learned in my old school, I found their chakra signature and started to follow them thinking it could be Naruto. I followed this person for about 5 minutes when they stopped just a few feet ahead of where I was. Slowly I crept forward trying to keep my chakra low so that they wouldn't sense me.

"Oh man I hate the Clone Jutsu!", yelled an all too familiar voice. _'Naruto what are you doing?' _I didn't want Naruto to see me yet so I slowly crept to the edge of what was a clearing and hid behind some bushes. Naruto was sitting on the ground against a shed reading a really big scroll and was trying to practice something. I tried to get a look at what the scroll was called but Naruto's hand was in the way. Suddenly Iruka-sensei appeared in front of Naruto with a very disappointed and angry look on his face.

"Naruto, do you know what you've done? That scroll contains things that if they get into the wrong hands it could put the entire village in danger.", Iruka said.

"But now I can show you my new technique and then you would have to graduate me because Mizuki-sensei said that if I learned a technique from the scroll then you would have to graduate me. Also he told me how to find it and this place and…" Naruto's words dropped off as he realized he had been used by Mizuki. Iruka's face showed that he was confused that Mizuki had betrayed everyone. _'I knew there was a reason why I didn't like Mizuki when I first met him.' _Suddenly kunai fly out of nowhere at Iruka-sensei and becomes pinned against the shed by multiple kunai and one of them had pierced his right leg.

"Hello Iruka, so you found our little hideaway.", Mizuki said as he appeared on a branch in front of Naruto and Iruka. "Naruto I need you to give me the scroll now."

"Don't do it Naruto, Mizuki just wants to use the scroll for his own power and he used you to get it.", Iruka yelled as some blood poured out of his mouth.

"Iruka is lying to you Naruto. He just doesn't want _you_ to have the scroll.", Mizuki said.

"Wait what are you guys talking about?", Naruto yelled confused at who is lying and who was telling the truth.

"Mizuki stop lying to him." Mizuki then got a wicked smirk on his face, "Oh I'm lying to him everyone has been lying to him since the day he was born. Everyone knows that on the day of his birth was day the Hokage gave out the decree, but Naruto is the only one that doesn't know about it."

"What decree? How come I'm the only one that doesn't know about it?," Naruto was becoming frustrated that there was something everyone knew about his entire life but he was the only one that didn't know. I laid in the bushes surprised and confused as well, not knowing what they were talking about.

"Mizuki it's forbidden to tell him!", Iruka yelled trying to persuade Mizuki to stop. Mizuki only ignored Iruka and continued, "The decree is that no one is to tell you that the Nine-Tailed Fox is inside of _you Naruto_." Naruto froze at what he just heard not wanting to believe what he was just told, but Mizuki continued to taunt him, "The beast that nearly destroyed our village 12 years ago and killed Iruka's parents now rests in you, you _are _the Nine-Tailed Fox! I mean haven't you ever wondered why everyone avoided you and looked at you as if they despised the thought of you even breathing. Even your beloved sensei thinks you're a monster."

"NO! It can't be true!", Naruto screamed with pain and sadness in his voice. Mizuki then pulled something from off his back and opened it until four curved knifes showed and were connected at the end of the handle. _'A windmill shuriken? Oh no, Naruto!'_

"Say goodbye Naruto.", Mizuki yelled as he threw the weapon directly at Naruto. Naruto was trying to crawl away but he wasn't going to make it.

"NARUTO!" Naruto opened his eyes and saw Iruka-sensei hovering over him protecting him from his death but Iruka was confused. The shuriken didn't pierce his back. Iruka turned around and his eyes widened as he saw me standing in front of him holding the shuriken in my right hand.

"Akina what are you doing here? You need to get away Mizuki is very dangerous.", Iruka said trying to warn me. I only smirked and said, "Don't worry I can handle him just fine and besides I have to protect you guys." I threw the shuriken right back at Mizuki when he didn't expect it but he was still able to move out of the way and landed on the ground. He drew out his other shuriken and threw it at me but I also caught this one and instead of throwing it back at him I ran at him with it. He quickly pulled out a kunai as our weapons clashed into each other. We pushed at each other to get the upper hand but he was bigger and a little stronger than me so he was able to push me back. He pushed me back again but this time he quickly punched me in the stomach when I tried to get my balance. The wind was knocked out of me and I fell on one knee trying to get catch my breath, the asshole punches hard.

"HEY you big moron leave my friend alone! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" all around the clearing there were small pops of smoke and when the smoke cleared there were so many Naruto copies, standing in a fighting position or crouching in the trees. They weren't illusions either they were solid clones.

' _So this is what Naruto learned from the scroll. I'm impressed; I heard this was a very advanced technique to master.' _Mizuki was definitely worried now as he turned around looking at all of the clones.

"Well since you're not gonna come to us then we'll just have to come to you!", a clone yelled as they all proceeded to beat Mizuki to a bloody pulp. The sun was starting to rise as Mizuki was now laying on the ground unconscious with a grinning Naruto standing.

"Looks like I got carried away, sorry.", he said while sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "So are you okay Akina and Iruka-sensei?"

"I'm fine over here.", I said with a smile as I wrapped a bandage around Iruka-sensei's leg. Iruka-sensei had a smile on his face as well as he said, "Naruto come here for a minute I have something here that I think you deserve."

"Oh really what is it?", Naruto asked as he came over very excited.

"First I need you to close your eyes."

"Okay." Iruka-sensei then took off Naruto's goggles and replaced it with his own headband, "Alright now open your eyes." Naruto opened his eyes and didn't see anything until he noticed Iruka wasn't wearing his headband and I held his goggles in my hand. "Congratulations Naruto Uzumaki, you passed.", Iruka announced. Naruto stared into space for a minute until I was suddenly crushed into a big bear hug. "Yeah Akina look at me I'm a ninja! Whoohoo YAY!", he screamed as he continued to pour his excitement into our hug and make the air pour out of my lungs.

"Hey Naruto how about I treat us all to ramen tonight?", I asked which only caused Naruto to hug me even tighter which meant no more air for me.

"This is the best day ever!"

"Naruto let go she can't breathe!", Iruka yelled.

"Oh no Akina!", he screamed as he _finally _let me go.

"Air *gasp* oh precious *gasp* air."


	5. Idiots?

"Akina I'm so excited we're gonna be put into our teams today, BELIEVE IT!", Naruto yelled rather loudly next to me. I had to wiggle my ear just to make sure I could still hear properly, "Yeah I'm excited to." We were only down the street from the academy, dragging our tired butts, as we were talking.

Last night after Naruto had received his headband, and nearly suffocated me, we went to his favorite ramen stand. All the while Mizuki was being arrested and punished for his crimes. Luckily Iruka-sensei only ended up with minor injuries so I didn't have to wrap a lot of bandages on him and neither Naruto nor I had any bruises, so we were fine.

As we continued walking Naruto kept talking about how happy he was that he was given a chance to become a genin and how he was going to make Iruka-sensei proud. I was glad he was so happy and I continued to listen to him rant on. Eventually we made it the classroom door and Naruto opened the door to let me go in front of him, which I gave him a 'thank you' for the gesture. Some people looked up and had shock written over their faces as they noticed Naruto had a headband.

"Hey Naruto what are you doing here? This isn't a place for the dropouts it's for people who actually graduated.", said a boy who had a hairstyle that made his head look like a pineapple.

'_People here really do have different hair styles; they either mimic birds or fruit.' _

"Well if you would open your eyes for once you would see that I happen to be wearing a headband which means that I graduated, so how about that.", Naruto said with a grin and attitude in his voice. The boy just yawned and replied with a, "Whatever", and laid his head down and went straight to sleep. Naruto and I walked farther into the room and sat in a random row.

"The guy I just talked to was Shikamaru Nara, he is the laziest person in this entire universe and all he does is sleep.", Naruto explained to me as we were sitting waiting for someone to tell us what to do. Suddenly what sounded like a stampede of hippos was coming from down the hallway and getting closer by the second. The door bursted open as Sakura and Ino came through the door panting hard and glaring daggers at each other.

"I won!", they both screamed at the same time.

"Looks like I won again billboard brow.", said a smirking Ino.

Sakura replied with, "In your dreams Ino-pig I was way ahead of you." After that they continued to bicker all the while Naruto was staring Sakura and I think he started to drool a little bit. I waved my hand in front of his face and snapped my fingers but nothing changed his expression.

'_Why does he always have to do this?'_

Sakura then turned to look in our direction making Naruto blush even more then he already was. When she quickly walked towards us Naruto got up to say 'Hi' but she pushed him out of the way and went passed my chair.

"Good morning Sasuke-kun.", she said shyly with a slight blush on her face. Of course Sasuke stayed silent and continued to ignore her as she spoke, "May I sit next to you Sasuke-kun?" Ino then comes up and grabs Sakura's arm saying, "No way _**I'm**_ sitting next to Sasuke-kun."

"What are you talking about I was here first so I should sit next to him.", argued Sakura. Another girl who I didn't know came up to them and said, "Actually I was here before either of you so I should sit next to Sasuke-kun." Suddenly _another _comes up to them and said they were here first. Soon almost all of the girls were arguing with each about who was first and that I should sit to Sasuke-kun, it was giving me a headache.

'_I just have to breathe. Today is the day I get teammates which means hopefully I won't have Sasuke and one of his fan girls on my team. I just hope Iruka-sensei will come soon because my patience is wearing thin.'_

**Hokage's office**

Nearly a dozen Jounin stood in the Hokage's office surrounding him and a large crystal ball that allowed them all to see the new genin. One of them looked to be in his early 20's with silver gravity-defying hair and had his headband covering his left eye. He said, "So this is the promising Sasuke Uchiha.", in a curious voice looking at the young Uchiha.

The Hokage answered, "Yes he is the only one that survived the Uchiha Massacre."

Kurenai stood there as well watching the young Yukito girl, "I'm very interested in Akina Yukito, the only one left of her clan." Her eyes continued to look at the young raven haired girl in the crystal ball she had met not too long ago.

"Yes she just came to us from The Village Hidden in the Mist not too long ago. They told me she wanted to start over in a different place and that she chose us.", The Hokage answered. The silver haired man's eyes stopped on the kid wearing an orange jumpsuit lying on the ground and said, "I see so this is Naruto Uzumaki."

**Classroom**

Naruto rubbed his head from where it had hit a desk when Sakura pushed him over. Frustrated he looked at all of the girls surrounding Sasuke as he just sat there with that stupid nonchalant expression on his face. Naruto got this pissed off expression on his face as he got up and jumped on the desk in front of Sasuke. All the while he was glaring at him. Sasuke just sat there glaring as well and I could tell that they were having a mental battle against each other.

'_This is not going to end well.'_, I thought as I watched what these two were going to do. Soon all of the girls noticed Naruto glaring at Sasuke so they started threatening him to get away from Sasuke. Then they started cheering for Sasuke to teach Naruto a lesson. In the desk in front of the two knuckleheads some guy was laughing so hard he brought his arm up which made Naruto go forward.

"Hey sorry about that I didn't mean to…."

Utter silence filled the room as people were trying to process what they were seeing. No one dared to breathe or move an inch wondering if what they were seeing was really happening.

Until that silence was then broken by me laughing my ass off, which made me fall out of my chair, as the two '_lovers' _were kissing each other with death glares in their eyes. Both boys quickly pulled apart from each other and started to gag as if they were poisoned. The other girls though were not laughing one bit as one thought entered their synchronized fan-girl minds:_ How dare you Naruto, I was supposed to be Sasuke's first kiss! _I think Naruto felt the change of emotion in the atmosphere as he slowly looked over his shoulder to look at the fan-girls. I could see his face pale when he saw their death glares and how they were cracking their knuckles.

"Wait it wasn't my fault! It was an accident! Please don't hurt me! NO!", he screamed as the group of girls started to beat the crap out of him like there was no tomorrow. When they were done with him he looked like a mess with cuts, bruises, and a black eye. Fortunately for Naruto Iruka-sensei came in at the right time to break up the group of girls and get things started.

"First I would like to congratulate you all on making this far. You are now starting your journey to become real shinobi of the Leaf Village. Though many of you will face different challenges and complete those in a different way just remember you and every other shinobi in this village are aiming for one goal: protect the ones that are important to your heart. Now I am going to announce the teams of your three-man squad but due to the uneven number of people one squad will have four people. Each squad will be lead by a Jounin, a high-ranked ninja."

As Iruka-sensei announced this there was an air of excitement and anxiety in the room as kids were eager to hear who is on their team. I looked around and caught Kiba's eyes, he winked at me and gave me the thumbs up. I nodded to him and then saw Hinata staring at Naruto blushing a little bit. _'I swear if Naruto ever gets a girlfriend let it be Hinata and not Sakura.' _I looked next to me at Naruto and he gave me thumbs up, both of us hoping to be on the same team. During my look around Iruka-sensei had already started to call team names and numbers, "Okay first up is squad 8; Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka." I looked at Kiba and he gave me a sorry look with his eyes and I mouthed to him 'It's okay.' "Next is squad 10; Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chouji Akimichi." In the back to my right I saw Ino slamming her head on her desk while Shikamaru had an amused smirk on his face. Chouji just continued to sit there eating his chips looking like he didn't really care. For about 10 more minutes Iruka-sensei announced squads but I spaced out a little by looking out of a window until I heard the last squad being called. _'Uh-oh I hope I didn't miss my name being called because that would really suck.' _"Squad 7 is Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Akina Yukito." Naruto was excited that Sakura and I were called while he got depressed when Sasuke's name was called. All the while Sakura was _**very**_ happy to be with Sasuke, I think I saw her stick her tongue at Ino, but then got depressed when she heard Naruto's name. Sasuke was being emotionless as usual while I was wondering just how the hell I got Sasuke and one of his fan girls in my squad.

'_At least I'll have Naruto with me so I won't go totally insane, that is until he tries to ask Sakura out which if that happens I am just going to give up on life.' _

"Now that everyone knows what squad they're on you can now go to lunch and get to know your teammates. Then after lunch you will meet in an assigned room so that you can meet your new sensei and get acquainted, so go and have a good day.", he said with a proud smile. Everyone quickly filed out of their seats and ran out of the doorway, eager to meet their new sensei's and teammates. I was just getting out of my seat when I was blindsided by a blur of white. Whatever hit me made me stumble back a couple of steps and almost made me trip over my chair but I was able to keep my balance. Something wet and slimy continuously licked my face as I tried to compose myself. I opened my eyes and saw Akamaru panting and shaking his tail as if he did nothing wrong at all.

"Looks like Akamaru can't keep his paws off of you.", said Kiba as he walked over to me petting Akamaru.

"What can I say I'm a canine magnet", I replied with a smirk.

"It's too bad that you're not on my team though we would have been good teammates.", he said a little down with his hood somewhat covering his eyes. Today he had on a parka that had fur around the edges which only managed to add more to his already canine appearance.

"Yeah I feel the same but we will still see each other and our teams can hang out with each other sometimes.", I said hoping to cheer him up.

"Well that's true, so I gotta go hang out with my team so we'll see you later Akina.", he said getting a stubborn Akamaru out of my arms.

"Bye Kiba see you soon, bye Akamaru.", I said leaving the class room as well in search of Naruto so that we could eat lunch together. The classroom was clear by the time I left so not many people were still around. _'How am I supposed to find Naruto?' _

I exited the building not seeing Naruto anywhere insight. So I decided to wander around on some of the winding paths next to the school that lead throughout the park. _'Maybe I can find him better if I look from a tree.' _With that thought I looked for a tree that had a tall branch. As I was climbing up one I thought, _'Naruto most probably went to ask Sakura to have lunch with him since we're in the same team, but she probably turned him down as usual. Then she probably went to go look for her __**beloved**__ Sasuke while Naruto sulks in a corner, talk about a cliché love triangle.' _Once I reached the top branch I could see much of the park so finding Naruto couldn't be too bad. As I looked around I saw something pink, _'That has to be Sakura, maybe Naruto is still trying to eat with her.'_

I proceeded to get closer until I saw that Naruto wasn't with her, instead I saw Sasuke with her and he had this weird look in his eye. I got closer so that I could hear but still far enough that they couldn't see or hear me.

"Sakura your forehead is so huge and charming it makes me want to kiss it.", Sasuke said. _'Wait did Sasuke just say what I think he said, huge and charming? Now I know someone is definitely messing with Sakura because never in a million years would Sasuke _**ever** _say something like that.'_, I thought with a shocked look on my face. Of course Sakura thought that Sasuke truly meant it since she was blushing a lot and she had sock written on her face.

"Just kidding only Naruto would say something as stupid as that.", 'Sasuke' said as he sat down next to Sakura as she pouted and sighed. "But I do have a question for you. What do you think about Naruto?", he asked curiously. Sakura's face got very serious and upset as she spoke, "Naruto knows how I feel and he intentionally tries to ruin everything or interrupt it somehow. This only makes me feel bad and he acts like he knows everything about when he doesn't. Naruto is simply just annoying. The only thing I want though is for you to accept me Sasuke that's it."

"Is that all you want, for me to accept you?", 'Sasuke' asked with shock.

"Yes, it's how I really feel. I would do anything you wanted so that you would see me as an equal.", Sakura said getting quieter and leaning in to kiss 'Sasuke'. As Sakura's lips got closer to 'Sasuke' he got this weird painful look on his face and he grabbed his stomach. He quickly got up and started running towards the academy while Sakura sat there saying 'Sasuke' was shy. _'Shy my ass he's an Uchiha for Kami's sake as if he would ever be shy. Now that I know that Naruto pretended to be Sasuke, where is the __**real**__ Sasuke?' _As I began pondering the devil himself came walking the down the path towards Sakura. By his irritated expression this was definitely the real Sasuke, except Sakura was still excited about the almost-kiss that she didn't even notice.

"Oh Sasuke you're back! Are you ready this time because I sure am? Wait where are you going?", Sakura asked as Sasuke kept looking around looking for a certain someone.

"Where is Naruto?", he asked.

"Why do you care, I mean all he does is pick fights with you and he is _**so**_annoying. You know why he's so annoying, it's because he wasn't raised right. He doesn't have any parents so no one taught him right from wrong; he only does what pops in his head. If I ever did half the stuff Naruto did I would be punished for life and my parents would be so angry with me. If you don't have any parents how do you know what's right and wrong. Just look at him he's bratty, snotty, selfish, and all alone.", Sakura said as if she could even begin to understand why Naruto is the way he is.

"He is alone and isolated.", Sasuke answered in an ice cold tone, "It isn't about how your parents punished you. You can't even begin to understand what being alone is."

"Sasuke what do you mean? Why are you saying this?", Sakura asked confused about Sasuke's change in emotion. By this time I was ready to pull her hair out so I jumped out the trees and explained it to her plain and simple.

"What he means is that you're annoying and you can't even begin to understand what it's like to be alone. To have no parents to teach you anything or to watch you grow up is not his problem. Naruto is the way he is because he is searching for that attention that all of those other kids with parents have, so don't go walking around thinking Naruto is just selfish and a brat because he isn't." Both of them were silent when I finished, Sakura out of shock and Sasuke out of understanding, but I didn't care I was still pissed. So I just walked around them and went back into the building to go to the assigned room we were given to meet our new sensei. On my way back I passed a room and I was still peeved about what Sakura said that I almost didn't hear the whisper of my name. I walked back a few steps and saw Hinata and her team there waiting for their sensei.

"Hey Hinata what's up?", I said walking into the room. On a desk were Kiba and a sleeping Akamaru and the other guy, Shino, was just leaning against a wall minding his own business.

"H-hello Ak-kina. Are y-you okay I m-mean you look upset-t.", Hinata stuttered out with her quiet voice.

"Yeah I'm okay no need to worry about it. So do you guys know who your sensei is yet?", I asked.

"N-no th-they aren't h-here yet.", she responded.

"I don't think mine is here yet but I haven't gone to my room yet."

"Oh well I-I don't w-want to ke-ep you w-waiting.", Hinata said in her tiny alarmed voice.

"Don't worry about it. Well bye-bye Hinata.", I said as I was turning around but when I tried to take a step forward someone grabbed my foot before it touched the ground and said, "Wait." I look down and see Shino holding my foot and getting a spider off of the area where I was gonna step.

"Sorry but you almost crushed her.", he said in a calm voice. He held the spider in his hand and inspected it to see if it was okay.

"Sorry I guess I wasn't watching where I stepped.", I said not sure about how to handle this.

"It's okay just watch where you step next time.", he said and he walked to the nearby window and let the spider go free.

"Will do.", I said giving him a salute and walking out if the room and down the hallway. In a few minutes I made it to our assigned room and everyone was here. Sasuke was sitting at a desk being emotionless and whatever, Sakura was sitting there next to him trying to get him to talk, and Naruto was talking to Sakura about what kinds of ramen he liked.

"Hey Akina what's up.", Naruto said as he waved me over.

"Nothing much.", I responded. Sakura looked at me and sent me a look of regret and sorry which I only shook my head slightly and sent looks at Naruto. She realized what I wanted her to do and actually began to talk to Naruto. Naruto had shock written in his eyes but was excited nonetheless that she was even listening to him.

**2 (very slow) hours later….**

"Where is he, he's late! Everyone else already got to meet their Sensei's and we're the only ones left! Even Iruka-sensei left already.", Naruto yelled frustrated as he looked in the hallway trying to find our sensei.

"Naruto we're all irritated and bored.", Sakura said irritated at Naruto and at the fact that our sensei was indeed late.

"Wait what are you doing Naruto get down!", she screamed as we all watch Naruto set an eraser in-between the door and the wall.

"This will show him.", Naruto said grinning like a fox and even though Sakura said she was against it I could see that she wanted our sensei to get hit too for being late.

"You are hopeless, our Sensei is a Jounin they aren't gonna fall for this stupid trip.", Sasuke muttered from his desk.

"No offense I'm leaning towards Sasuke's side.", I whispered. A few minutes later the door opened and the eraser landed right on his silver gravity-defying hair and landed on the floor. He was silent as he picked the eraser off the floor and held it in his hand all the while Naruto was laughing his butt off and Sakura was trying to feign innocence. Sasuke still had his emotionless face off but I was chuckling at the fact that the guy fell for it. Our sensei just looked at us with his right eye, since his left eye was covered by his shinobi headband, and said, "Sorry to say this but so far my first impression of all of you is that you're all idiots."

'_Well my first impression is you remind me of a pirate, except you're not wearing an eye-patch .'_


	6. Inheritence

"All right everyone first off congratulations on becoming genin. You are now a part of Team 7 so let's get to know each other, shall we.", Kakashi-sensei said somewhat lazily.

"What kind of things should we say about ourselves sensei?", Sakura asked as we all sat down. We had all gone up to the roof of the academy and everyone was sitting down on the stairs except Kakashi-sensei. He was leaning against the railing and held some book in his hand even though he wasn't reading it. When I got a better look at the title I felt like throwing up. _'Why the hell is our sensei reading Icha Icha Paradise? That's porn for crying out loud.' _Luckily the shock and disgust didn't show on my face as Kakashi-sensei talked.

"Tell everyone who you are, what you like/dislike, hobbies, and your dream for the future.", he explained.

"Ooh! Ooh! Tell us something about you Kakashi-sensei so we can see how this works!", Naruto yelled still very excited about being in a team.

"Well I'm Kakashi Hatake, as for my likes and dislikes don't have any, hobbies you don't need to know about, and I never really thought my future." We all sighed with annoyance when he finished, _'That was so insightful considering the fact that the only thing he told us was his name.'_

"Okay let's start with you, the one with the pink hair.", he said as he pointed to Sakura.

"Alright well my name is Sakura Haruno, my likes or actually who I like is *giggle, blush, look at Sasuke*, my dream is to *blushes and squeals really loud*, and my dislike is Naruto!", she exclaimed as Naruto got anime tears. During Sakura's rambling Sasuke just retained his unemotional face and I grew annoyed even though I sort of laughed at it too.

"Since you're an energetic one let's start with you in the blue shirt.", Kakashi-sensei said sarcastically as he pointed to Sasuke.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha, I barely have any likes, I dislike a lot, and as for hobbies I train. I don't perceive it as a dream because it _**will**_become a reality which is to restore my clan and to kill a certain someone.", he finished with no emotion except hatred. _'Wow he really went through the ringer if he's like this.' _Out of the corner of my eye I actually saw Sakura blush when she heard Sasuke's first dream and then she had this dreamy look on her face. _'The poor girl, she will never have a life.'_

"Let's move on, how about you blondie.", Kakashi-sensei said trying to keep things moving.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, my likes are all kinds of ramen and my new best friend Akina, my dislikes are the 3 minute wait for ramen and Sasuke, my hobbies are eating different types of ramen and comparing them, and my dream is to be the greatest Hokage so that everyone will respect me.", he said very excitedly. I smiled when Naruto said he was happy that I was his best friend so when it was my turn I started to mess with his blonde hair. I was sitting on a stair above Naruto so he relaxed against my legs and was enjoying me massaging his scalp. Kakashi-sensei just turned his head towards me and waited until I was ready.

"Okay so my name is Akina Yukito, my likes are music, animals, and _my _new best friend Naruto, my dislikes are people who think they're more superior to others, and my hobbies are learning new techniques and dancing. Lastly I have two goals which is to become an Anbu Captain like my mom and to find a special someone.", I finished with eyes staring at me with curiosity.

"Now that everyone knows each other we will begin training tomorrow at 6 am but don't eat breakfast before you come or else you'll get sick. So goodbye now.", Kakashi-sensei said as he made a hand sign and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I totally need to learn how to do that.", I said which made Naruto giggle as we all still sat there staring at the space where Kakashi-sensei was.

"Hey Akina I'm hungry wanna go get some ramen from Ichiraku's?", he asked as we stood up.

"Sure let's go.", I said as I headed towards the railing but I watched as Naruto ask Sakura if she wanted to come with us.

"No Naruto I don't want to go with you I have more important things to do. Oh Sasuke where are you going? Come back maybe we can hang out and go get some ramen together!", she said as she ran after Sasuke who had secretly jumped over the railing and landed on the street.

"It's okay Naruto she is in the stage where girls put their entire focus on one guy and they become all obsessed and all that jazz. However as they enter the young women stage and they realize how much of a stalker they have been, they finally look for guys like based on their similarities and not their looks. So this means you still have a chance Naruto but not right now.", I explained to Naruto as we walked toward Ichiraku's. Realization and understanding showed on his face and a huge grin spread across on his face.

"Yes I still have a chance! Woo-hoo! Thanks Akina I feel so much better now!", he yelled as he jumped up and down in the street until he gave me a nice _tight _bear hug.

"One day Naruto, one day you are going to kill me with your hugs.", I said as beautiful delicious air returned to my deprived lungs. As we arrived at Ichiraku's Naruto ran to a seat and started ordering about 3 bowls of ramen just for him which made me giggle. I sat down next to him and ordered a bowl of chicken ramen.

"Hey Akina do you think that this sensei will teach us anything cool because he doesn't look like he's all that tough?", Naruto asked as we waited for our ramen to get done.

"Looks can be deceiving Naruto and I think that he can teach a lot about different techniques and how to be a better ninja." I answered as our ramen arrived. Immediately Naruto grabbed his chopsticks and started gulping down ramen as if his life depended on it. _'Good thing I only got one bowl because watching Naruto eat can make you lose your appetite.' _As Naruto ordered more bowls he started talking which one was his favorite and what he should eat next. After that we both just walked home so that we could wake up early to meet Kakashi-sensei.

"Good night Naruto see ya in the morning.", I said as we arrived at my apartment building first.

"Good night Akina!", he yelled as he continued to walk down the street to his apartment building. As I walked inside I stepped on something and looked down to see a letter with my name on it. I picked it up and walked into my kitchen to sit down and opened it,

_To Akina Yukito,_

_Before training with Kakashi-sensei report to the Hokage building so that he may have a discussion with you._

I crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trash can as I thought, _'What could the Hokage want to discuss with me? Oh well I'll just have to find out when I get there.' _With that all done I quickly ran to jump in the shower and get my pajamas on; which consisted of a silver t-shirt with the Konoha symbol on it and red boys' shorts. I crawled into bed excited as to what was in store for me in the morning but before I fell asleep I set my alarm clock.

The annoying beeping of my alarm clock woke me up at 5:00 am so that I could prepare myself for the long day ahead of me. I slowly and reluctantly pulled my covers off of me and started to drag my feet to the bathroom. Once I was finished beautifying myself and had my clothes on it was about 5:30 so I quickly left my apartment, after grabbing a S'mores Poptart, and was on my way to the Hokage's building. As I walked down the street only a few people were out, although they were mostly merchants who were just setting up everything for later in the day. Within 5 minutes I was in front of the Hokage Building so I started to climb the stairs. In a few minutes I arrived at the Hokage's door and knocked on it.

"Come in.", he said from the other side. As I entered he was sitting behind his desk with his pipe in his hand. On the edges of his desk there were neat little piles of scrolls and paper and in the middle there was a large box-like object but I couldn't tell what it was because it was wrapped in a blanket.

"Good morning Akina please sit down there are a few things I would like to discuss and share with you.", he said as he gestured to the chair in front of his desk. I sat in the chair and got comfortable, "What do we need to discuss?"

"As you have been put into a cell you are going to learn many things and encounter many obstacles in order to complete missions. It was requested of your mother that she wanted you to have something in order to protect yourself on these journeys." He grabbed the box-like object and began to un-wrap the blanket from around it.

Wrapped within that blanket was the box that held my mother's twin katanas. I know it was that box because it was a unique custom-made wooden box that was made out of pine trees. On the front of the box my mother's name was etched into the wood and it looked like my name was added underneath hers. My mother's katanas were both made of steel that was practically impossible to break and it could slice through its target is if they were butter. On the hilt of the blade was my clan symbol which has a wolf howling into the sky with the moon behind its head. Memories rushed through my head of my mother cleaning them and saying how that one day I would be able to master her katanas. As I reached out to hold them I could feel the tears surge to the surface of my eyes but I wouldn't let them fall. I ran my hands up and down the blades as my heart swelled with sadness and longing for my mother and my entire clan. I felt something in front of my face and when I lifted my eyes the Hokage was holding a box of tissues in his hand with a look of sadness as well on his face. I tried my best to give him a thank you smile as I grabbed the little box but it didn't look much like one.

"I'm sorry this upset you Akina your clan was a mighty one and your mother did a lot when she sometimes did missions for us, she was an amazing woman and leader. We also have some scrolls of your clan but we don't know what they say in them because there is a seal that forbids anyone who is not of Yukito blood to read them. For now I will hold on to them until you're done training with Kakashi so you won't have to worry about them." As he talked he made the sadness in my heart ache less and I didn't feel anymore tears come up to the surface when I finished wiping them.

"Thank you Hokage-sama that makes feel a lot better to know that.", I said as I stood up with my mother's katanas.

"You are very welcome Akina and of you need anything I will always be right here for you. Also here are the straps so that you can better carry them." As I put the katanas on I realized since my hair was out and it could get in the way for when I would pull the katanas out so in order to avoid getting a new haircut I took a convenient head tie off of my wrist and put my long hair into a high ponytail. Having these katanas made me feel as though they were a part of my mother and that she would always protect me from any danger. "Once again thank you Hokage-sama you have no idea how grateful I am and how happy this makes me."

"No need to thank me Akina I was just returning what is rightfully yours." he said with a smile on his face. "But I believe you should hurry to training before you are late." On that note I walked to the Hokage and gave him a big hug and then ran out the door so I could get to training.

**Hokage-sama's POV**

I watched as Akina ran out of my office after giving me one of the biggest hugs I have ever received. I'll admit that I was shocked but a smile soon graced my face and my heart filled with happiness. _'Oh Mayuri if only you could see how much she looks and acts like you. I believe she will be a great kunoichi and Anbu Captain just like you.' _With that thought I returned to my desk and continued on paperwork that needed to be completed. I know that if I didn't finish this paperwork I was never going to be done by the end of the day.


	7. YOU'RE LATE!

**Meanwhile at the training ground…**

"He told us to be here at 6 and he isn't even here himself!", yelled an irritated Naruto while Sakura mentally agreed with him and Sasuke ignored him. When Naruto had first arrived he saw Sasuke leaning against a tree with his eyes closed while Sakura was standing next to him trying to start a conversation. But for some reason as he looked around Akina was nowhere in sight and Sakura said that she didn't see Akina leave or anything. Naruto began to think that maybe she just overslept and was on her way right now or that maybe she was still confused about where the training grounds were since she was still new to the village. _'But the old man must have told her where everything was when she first arrived so then what is taking her so lo-' _He never got to finish his thought as something pounced on his back and made him fall over on his face.

"What the hell! Who is on my back! That hurt!", screamed Naruto as he rolled over and was greeted by playful lavender eyes.

"Sorry Naruto but I couldn't resist it when I saw that you had this look on your face as if you were deep in thought.", Akina said smiling as if she did nothing wrong.

"Well I was wondering why a certain _**someone**_ was late.", Naruto said accusingly as Akina got off of him and helped him to stand up. "Where were you anyway?"

There was an emotion in Akina's eyes that betrayed a twinge of sadness before it was gone like the wind, "Hokage-sama needed to talk to me for a quick sec and it took longer than expected." Naruto could sense that something had happened but just as he was about to ask about it he noticed something over Akina's shoulder. He walked around behind her and saw that they were long twin katanas in their sheaths and as he inspected them further he saw a symbol on the hilt of both of the blades. It looked like a howling wolf with the moon behind its head.

"Wow these are so cool Akina where did you get them? Can you do like super fast techniques with these or can you combine them with a special jutsu or something!", Naruto yelled as he made motions of swinging katanas around. Akina laughed as she watched him and said, "No I'm not even sure about how to use them properly and Hokage-sama gave them to me since they were my mother's." Naruto didn't really hear the last part since he was still trying to act like he was swinging katanas around and Akina had spoken softer as she still felt the longing in her heart for her mother.

"Naruto, why can't you be quiet for at least a minute? Some of us are still tired for having to get up early when our sensei still isn't here!", said a frustrated Sakura who Akina just noticed.

"Hey I had to get up early too! I didn't even have time to change my underwear or take a shower!" As soon as those words left his mouth I quickly moved next to Sakura to hide behind her with a look of disgust on our faces. "Naruto that is just plain old nasty. As soon as we're done training I am throwing your ass in the tub.", Akina said from behind Sakura. "That is unacceptable Naruto!", Sakura yelled as she ran to Naruto to beat some sense into his head. Naruto's face quickly paled and he bolted as Sakura was hot on his heels but Sakura's anger gave her an advantage as she quickly caught him and started to beat the living crap out of him. From the sidelines Akina watched and thought _'Oh well Naruto that's why it's important to follow the number one rule of society. Take a bath _before_ you leave your house.' _She heard a sigh come from her right and a voice that said, "How did I get on a team full of losers?" Akina turned to her left and the first thing she saw was a black duck's butt but it turned out to be the back of Sasuke's head. _'He should really get a haircut or something 'cause every time I look at the back of his head my first thought is duck butt.' _Akina tried to cover up a laugh as she thought this but Sasuke still heard it.

"What's so funny?", he asked slightly annoyed. It took Akina a couple of minutes to compose herself so she could answer him, "It's just that every time I see the back of your head It reminds me of a duck's butt.", she said this with a small smile like it was nothing. Sasuke on the other hand didn't find this amusing at all as he moved to a different tree mumbling something about _'Why me?'_ and _'Idiots.' _Naruto came over to sit next to Akina and she saw that he had a black eye and a couple of cuts and bruises from Sakura. "Akina why is it that I always seem to be the one getting beat up all the time by Sakura?", he asked. "Well Naruto, Sakura has a dark side to her that she hasn't controlled yet and because some of the things you say really should be kept to yourself." Naruto had a look of understanding on his face once he absorbed this information.

**2 freaking long hours later (Akina's POV)…**

"Hello everyone, are we all ready to begin?", said a cheerful Kakashi-sensei as he arrived at the training grounds but he didn't get a very cheerful response back.

"YOU'RE LATE!", yelled Naruto and Sakura while I was just waking up from a nap in a tree. During the time that we had sat here waiting I slept in my nice tree while Naruto complained, as usual, and was trying to get Sakura to talk to him. All the while Sakura was trying to ignore Naruto as she tried to get Sasuke to notice her, and Sasuke was being his usual self by ignoring both Sakura and Naruto. Sometimes I wonder if being put on this team is a curse or blessing but I haven't figured that out yet.

"Well you see there was a black cat about to cross my path so I had to go the longer way to get here.", Kakashi-sensei said as I could tell he just made that up on the spot. Naruto and Sakura gave him a 'mhmm' and waited for his instructions.

"So let's get started, shall we.", said Kakashi-sensei as he walked over to three posts that were a few feet away to our right. On one of those posts was a timer that I didn't notice before.

"This timer is set for noon and if you're unable to complete the task I give you, you will be tied to the posts and not be able to eat lunch. You have to sit there and watch as I eat my lunch." Mumbles of complaint was heard from Naruto and Sakura, except Sasuke of course, as they didn't eat any breakfast. _'At least I ate a poptart before leaving but still it wasn't much.' _

"Wait Kakashi-sensei what's the task?, asked Sakura.

"Your task is for each of you to get one of these bells that I'm holding.", as Kakashi-sensei said this he pulled out 3 silver bells that were held together by a red string.

"But wait there's four of us and only three bells, why is that?", asked Sakura.

"This is so that at least one of you will get tied to the post and be disqualified for not completing the task. That person will then be sent back to the academy but there is a chance that all four of you will fail. You are allowed to use any weapons even shuriken because if you aren't prepared to kill me then you'll never get the bells."

"But sensei shurikens are too dangerous to use!", Sakura said worried. Naruto started to laugh as he said, "Yeah especially since you couldn't even dodge a simple eraser."

"You know that class clowns are always the weakest links so you can safely ignore them, they have low test scores, and they're basically just losers." Naruto immediately stopped laughing when he heard the word loser and got this really pissed off look on his face. '_Uh-oh the word loser is like taboo for Naruto. He's definitely going to do something rash and stupid now.' _

"Once I say start we will begin.", as soon as Kakashi-sensei finished Naruto whipped out a kunai and started to charge at Kakashi-sensei. In a flash Kakashi-sensei grabbed Naruto's hand that was holding the kunai and twisted it, without hurting Naruto, so that the point was at the back of his neck and Kakashi-sensei's other hand grabbed the top of Naruto's head. Seeing him do this Naruto made me a little angry and more determined to finish this task. _'This guy is no joke hence the reason why he's a jounin. This is going to require teamwork but I'm not sure if Naruto, Sasuke, or Sakura is even going to be interested in combining forces.'_

"I never said start yet so don't be in such a big hurry. I have to say though since you did charge at me with the motive of killing me, I have to say I'm starting to like you guys.", Kakashi-sensei said as he let Naruto go.

"Alright get set.", said Kakashi-sensei and I could feel my muscles getting tense so that I can go hide from him. As I looked around from the corner of my eye everyone else was just as tense as I was.

"Go!" In a flash we were gone and were looking for hiding spots. I was hiding on a tree branch that was about only half way up the tree. I still had a good view of the clearing where Kakashi-sensei was still standing there just waiting for us to try something so he could take us down. Almost on the other side of the clearing I could see Sakura hiding under a bush and to my left I could see Sasuke in a tree as well except he was higher up in his tree.

"Some of the basic things ninjas need to know is how to conceal their movements as well as hide effectively.", explained Kakashi-sensei. _'Let's see the objective is to get at least one of the bells from him even though he's way stronger than us. So the only way I'll be able to get a bell is by teaming up with someone but whom. Sasuke is a loner, Sakura can't really do much, and Naruto only rush into things without thinking it through. Oh and there he is now rushing in without thinking.' _Naruto was standing in front of Kakashi-sensei with his arms crossed as if he was superior to Kakashi-sensei.

"Come on you and me fair and square. Right here and right now.", Naruto said with a lot of self-confidence.

"You know compared to other kids you're very strange.", said Kakashi-sensei.

"You're one to talk sensei with your gravity defying hair cut.", Naruto yelled back. Naruto then charged at Kakashi-sensei but stopped a couple of feet away from him to watch his next move.

"Shinobi Battle Techniques Part 1: Taijutsu, the Physical Art.", said Kakashi-sensei as he went into his weapons pouch. _'Wait if he's doing Taijutsu why is he reaching for a weapon? Taijutsu is hand-to-hand combat so he doesn't need a weapon.' _Although instead of it being a weapon Kakashi-sensei pulled out the same orange book from yesterday._ 'You have got to be kidding me, he's going to read as he fends off Naruto. Icha Icha Paradise, I am so disappointed in you sensei.' _I only shook my head both at the fact that Naruto doesn't think at all and at the fact that my Sensei is a pervert.

'_Why did we get the creepy one?'_

"Hey what do you think you're doing? You can't read and fight me at the same time.", yelled Naruto.

"To answer your first question I'm reading this book to find out what happens next and for your second question your attacks are weak so I can take you on even if I'm reading or doing something else.", Kakashi-sensei said as he didn't look up from his book. This infuriated Naruto and with a battle cry he ran towards Kakashi-sensei with his fist back ready to punch him. Of course Kakashi-sensei caught Naruto's punch easily and ducked as Naruto tried to kick him. As Naruto recovered from his kick he quickly sprang back up again to punch Kakashi-sensei except Kakashi quickly moved behind him leaving Naruto dumbfounded.

"Never let your enemy get behind you or else they'll take you down in a flash.", Kakashi-sensei explained to Naruto. As I looked at Kakashi I saw that he had his hand in the form of the tiger seal. _'The tiger hand sign usually means that a person is going to use a fire jutsu but Kakashi wouldn't go that far on us knowing we won't be able to do anything. So what is he doing?'_, I thought as I continued to watch from my branch. From underneath a bush I heard Sakura warn Naruto, "Naruto get out of there Kakashi-sensei is going to destroy you!"

"Oh well it's too late for him.", said Kakashi as Naruto's face got pale.

"Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu: 1000 years of death!", Kakashi yelled as he stuck his fingers up Naruto's butt which sent him flying into the nearby river. _'WTF? That's all.'_, was my only thought as I was still stunned at what just happened.

"Now let's see what happens next shall we?", Kakashi said as he went back to his porno. I caught movement in my left eye but when I looked I saw that it was only Sasuke reaching about to reach into his weapons pouch but halted when something shot out of the water. Two shuriken were zooming in the air towards Kakashi-sensei who wasn't even looking. But he knew they were coming because he easily caught them only using two fingers. _'He's smooth.'_, I admitted to myself as a soaked Naruto slowly crawled out of the river and stayed on the ground to catch his breath.

"You know it's almost noon and you still don't have a bell. If you don't hurry up you'll never get any lunch.", Kakashi said.

"I know this but how do you expect me to do anything when I didn't have any breakfast and we had to sit here and wait for you for 2 hours!" yelled a frustrated Naruto.

"You're very complaining, a bad trait for someone who wants to be the Hokage.", Kakashi said while reading his book. Kakashi walked away when Naruto started to rant about being caught off guard and how he will get a bell. All of a sudden about 7 Naruto clones jumped out of the river and were running towards Kakashi-sensei along with the original Naruto.

"How far do you think you're gonna get with this jutsu? You'll have to do better th-What the?", Kakashi was being held from behind by a Naruto clone.

"Now what was that you said about never letting your enemy get behind you?", the Naruto clone said as he held on to Kakashi as the original Naruto was about to punch him except when he did he hit himself. _'Hm that was smart he let Naruto get to him and used Naruto's jutsu against him. So where is he hiding now?' _, I thought as all of the Naruto clones started to beat each other up. Eventually Naruto stopped the jutsu, he had bruises all over his face until his eye caught something on the ground.

It was a silver bell.

Of course Naruto thought it had come loose when he attacked Kakashi-sensei so when he tried to reach for it but was instead now hanging upside down by his feet, I wasn't surprised at all.

"Never go for the obvious bait and think about the jutsu you're using and how your enemy can use it against you. As a ninja you have to be able to see through deception.", Kakashi explained to a struggling Naruto as he picked up the bell.

"Yeah, Yeah I get it already now get me down!", screamed a flailing Naruto.

"Actually you don't get it so that's why I'm telling you th-", Kakashi was cut off when he was hit by Sasuke's shuriken. _'What the hell Sasuke! Even though I just met Kakashi he couldn't be taken down that easily.' _My guess was right as Kakashi turned into a log with all of Sasuke's shuriken imbedded in it. _'It's time to move since he'll be looking for us now. Hopefully someone will be willing to work together.' _With that thought I quickly started to run to the area where Sakura had been hiding because seeing as how she was one of the smartest at the academy she would think that working together would also be a good idea. _'Wait Naruto!' _I quickly turned towards the clearing to see that Naruto is now hanging only by one foot alone in the clearing. "Hey Akina quick I need help!", Naruto said as I wordlessly used a kunai to cut down the rope. Just as I about to see if he wanted to work with me he said, "Thanks Akina now I'm gonna get one of those silver bells and teach our sensei a lesson even if it's the last thing I do!" With that said he quickly ran off into the forest while I still stood there thinking, _'Did that really just happen?' _Deciding to just forget about it I ran back into the forest hoping that I could still find Sakura before time was up. As I ran I heard a high-pitched scream coming from my left that could only belong to Sakura. _'At least I found her.' _

I found a small clearing and lying near the edge of it was Sakura but she looked like she was knocked out. Checking to see if there was another chakra source nearby I only felt Sakura's so Kakashi wasn't near here and this wasn't a trick. I looked around her head and the rest of her body to see if there were any injuries but there wasn't any. _'So Genjutsu is the second Shinobu Battle Skill. Kakashi must have gotten her in one when she wasn't paying attention but I'm not exactly sure how to get her out of it.' _

"Sasuke…no...you can't….", she mumbled."I started to shake her body and hitting her face, not too hard, to see if she would wake up but it wasn't working. After a couple of minutes to think about what I should do, a smile crept onto my face as I came up with a plan.

"OMG Sasuke admitted that he loves you and wants to have kids with you!"

That did the trick because Sakura woke up and started to yell with joy and tears, "Oh Sasuke I knew you loved me and I want to have kids with you too!" Then she realized that Sasuke wasn't there and started to freak out, "Oh no Akina Sasuke is in danger he-he was bleeding to death! I have to go and find him! I'm coming for you Sasuke!" On that note Sakura bolted into the forest to look for Sasuke as I stood there _again_ wondering what the hell just happened. _'Okay then that_ _a waste of my time. Well there is still one more person left so I'll try my best.' _I started to run back into the forest hoping to hear some type of noise that would lead me to Sasuke.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

'_That has to be Sasuke because I heard that the Fireball Jutsu was the Uchiha's well known jutsu.'_ Changing my course of direction I followed the sound of Sasuke's voice where I came to another clearing and he was still shooting the fireball. I didn't go into the clearing right away because I knew that Kakashi-sensei was around here somewhere so I hid on a high branch where I couldn't be seen. When Sasuke finished he looked around to figure out where Kakashi was going to attack from next. Suddenly a hand shot out of the ground and latched on to Sasuke's foot and a voice said, "I'm at the last place you would expect me." The hand around Sasuke's foot pulled him down into the ground until the only thing visible above the ground was Sasuke's head. In front of Sasuke was Kakashi-sensei who had squatted so he could talk to Sasuke, "That was Ninjutsu the third Shinobi Battle Skill. I must admit you were right when you said you were different than the others but you're definitely not any better." With that Kakashi decided to walk away to look for more victims while reading his Icha Icha Paradise but he never got to leave the clearing until he got a little surprise from yours truly.


	8. Competition

**Kakashi's POV**

'_I must admit these kids are quite amusing compared to all of the others I've had. Except for the fact that they're going to fail. Just like the rest of them.' _I thought as I walked away from the Uchiha kid. So far I've only faced the pink one, the anti-social one, and the very hyper one. Although I haven't seen the last one yet, Akina I think her name was. As I was walking I continued to read my book, hoping to finish it today possibly, since I have nothing else better to do. Unless, of course, Akina actually attempts to get a bell within the next few minutes that are left.

'_Well she better hurry up it's almost no-'_

I didn't get to finish my thought as an ambush of kunai attacked me from all sides. A few of them almost cut my book in half. _'Very clever of her to attack her enemy when they least expect it. This might be fun and I actually might put my book away for this. ' _I thought as I dodged more kunai. Suddenly the rain of kunai stopped and the air became unnaturally still, as I waited for her to make a move. I scanned the area with my eye trying to look for her through the tree branches, wondering where she was hiding. A few minutes had passed when a shadow blurred through the trees heading in the direction towards the same clearing where we had started from. I felt the chakra signature of the shadow it turned out it was Akina running through the trees. I was actually somewhat excited for this.

'_Let the chase begin.' _Was my last thought before I jumped into the trees and ran after her.

* * *

**Sasuke's POV**

'_How the hell did I get stuck like this! Damn it!', _I thought as I watched Kakashi walk away and leave me here stuck in the ground. I could feel the scowl on my face deepen at the fact that I beaten so easily. Suddenly he was being ambushed by kunai coming from the trees and he actually put that stupid book away or else it would have been shredded by kunai. For a few minutes he stood there after the kunai stopped attacking, as though he was waiting for something. He must have seen something, I couldn't see because of my position, because he jumped into the trees chasing after something. This left me all alone in the clearing, by myself.

_**Still**_ stuck in the ground.

"Of course none of those bakas will have any sense as to look for me and get me out of this damn hole." I said at no one, my anger rising because I was placed on a team full of idiots. Except Akina since she can actually pay attention to something, that is not me, and she can think for herself.

'_That must be the reason why they put her on this team, to balance the scale of whose smart and who's an idiot.'_

"Well Sasuke if that's how you really feel about us then I should just leave you here."

Slightly shocked, since I didn't sense her, I turned my head to the right and see Akina standing there with her arms crossed over her chest and she had that 'Tsk,tsk' expression on her face while slightly shaking her head. I just turned my head back forward and closed my eyes trying to ignore her, even though I did need her help.

"Ok then I guess I will leave you here even though no one else but me and Kakashi-sensei knows where you are but who knows how long it's going to take him to realized that he is just chasing a shadow clone." she said while turning around and started to walk away. This caught my interest a little bit because she gave up a chance to get a bell so that she could help me, but why?

* * *

**Akina's POV**

'_Now let's see if this Uchiha will fall for the bait.' _I thought as I walked away from the Uchiha who was still stick in the ground. When Sasuke and Kakashi were fighting I had made a few clones and told them to wait on to go to different places around the clearing so that we could ambush Kakashi-sensei with kunai. I told one of my clones to wait for a few minutes and then to run towards the clearing from this morning and to make sure Kakashi would see her. The plan worked perfectly as the clone did her job and Kakashi ran after her just as I had hoped.

"Wait."

I stopped in my tracks as I waited to hear what the Uchiha wanted.

"Help me." he said in a commanding way.

'_I think I'm going to play with him just a little bit.'_ I thought as I smirked.

"What's the magic word?" I said as I put my right hand to my ear as if I was listening for something.

"Please."

I could hear him grind his teeth together when he said it as if he had to force the word out; this made me smile a bit.

"Alright then let's get started." I said as I prepared to get my hands dirty. About 5 minutes later Sasuke was out of the hole and was brushing the dirt off of his clothes. I was in the process of wiping the dirt off my hands when I heard Sasuke say something, "Thanks." It wasn't much but I knew that it was all that I was going to get.

"No problem, now how about we get back to the clearing, since we probably only have a few minutes left anyway." I said as I looked at him. He just _'Hn'_ed at me in agreement as he began to walk in the direction of the clearing. I sighed as I followed him into the lush green forest.

* * *

The entire walk with Sasuke was both silent and somewhat awkward since we said nothing to each other at all, but during our walk we did hear the alarm go off signaling the end of the challenge. I looked at Sasuke's face to see what his expression was and even though his face stayed the same his eyes showed his anger and annoyance. A few minutes passed until we could see the clearing just ahead us and I could see that Sakura was already there since her pink hair stuck out against the greenery. Although, I didn't see Naruto anywhere near her. _'I wonder what happened to him?' _I thought. As Sasuke and I stepped out of the forest and into the clearing Sakura immediately noticed Sasuke and bolted towards him. When she got to him she automatically hugged him tightly and started to speak a mile per minute.

"Oh Sasuke I missed you so much! I couldn't find you anywhere! Are you injured? Hurt?" Her only answer was Sasuke yelling at her to "Get off!" as he was pushing her away. When he finally got her to let go she had a sad expression on her face but it immediately turned into her normal love-struck daze as she still looked at Sasuke.

"Oi, Akina you're here! Did you get a bell?" said a voice which sounded like Naruto's. Slightly startled I turn my head to the right and saw that Naruto was sitting tied up to the middle post where the alarm clock sat. Confusion clouded my mind as I wondered why Naruto was tied up in the first place. I walked over to him and in front of him cross-legged and before I could say anything he started to ramble on into his story of why he was tied to the post. Apparently after Naruto had left me standing there in the clearing he was trying to find Kakashi-sensei and in his quest he had found the lunchboxes. And since Kakashi-sensei wasn't anywhere to be seen he tried to eat his lunch so he wouldn't starve if we failed except before he could open his box Kakashi-sensei stopped him and tied him to the post as punishment. During the whole story I sat there and listened while I was slightly shaking my head in disbelief. _'Oh Naruto I love you but you DO NOT think things through very well at all.'_

"Hey Akina how about you help untie me, Kakashi-sensei would never know!" Naruto whispered to me.

"Or Akina can just ignore your request or else I will also tie her to the post next to you." Kakashi-sensei whispered as he stood right behind me while bending his upper body so that it was hovering over my head.

"Sorry Naruto you're on your own for this one." I said not wanting to be tied to the post as well, as much as I cared for Naruto, so I moved out from under Kakashi-sensei to sit against a post next to his. I noticed that Kakashi-sensei had all of our lunches behind his back and I could feel myself get slightly hungry but not too much since I did eat breakfast this morning.

"Traitor." Naruto mumbled as he looked away from Kakashi-sensei and I.

"Now that that is settled I can now announce that I'm not going to send none of you back to the academy even though you all failed this exercise." At hearing this Naruto became very excited as he yelled in excitement, Sakura had a 'WTF' face, Sasuke was being Sasuke (meaning all he did was '_Hn_'ed), and I starting to think that Kakashi was pulling our leg here. _'There has to be something more to this because he wouldn't let us pass since we did horrible on this exercise. What is his game plan?' _I thought as I waited for him to elaborate.

"Instead all four of you will be expelled from the program immediately and this is **permanent**."

Everyone's expression was of shock and disbelief at what Kakashi just said. _'This has got to be a joke they can't drop us from the program because of this. No, Kakashi-sensei has to be going somewhere with this.' _

"What the hell Kakashi-sensei! You said that if we couldn't a bell then you would just send us back to the academy. Now you go and change your mind on us! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Naruto yelled at Kakashi-sensei while struggling against the rope that binds him to the post.

"Actually I can do that because instead of thinking like ninjas you're all thinking like a bunch of little brats." Kakashi said with his arms crossed and a hard expression in his eye. Before I could comprehend it Sasuke was rushing towards Kakashi with a kunai in his hand and, by the look in his eye, I could tell that he wasn't thinking right, he was letting his anger blind him. Kakashi used this against him as he easily pinned Sasuke to the ground and was now sitting on Sasuke's back while twisting Sasuke's left hand behind his back.

"Now you think you are better than everyone don't you, well guess what you aren't. None of you know what it takes to be real ninja instead you are all acting as if this is some kind of game. Let me ask you this; why do you think you were assigned into teams? I guess that never even crossed your minds did it?" During his speech Kakashi's tone was the definition of harsh and I could see that everything he pointed out were starting to make everyone realize what he wanted us to figure out.

"Sensei I don't understand what you mean?" Sakura said with uncertainty in her voice.

"What I mean is that none of you have even come close to figuring out why we're doing this exercise in the first place, although I suspect that Akina already figured it out from the beginning. Didn't you Akina? Would you please tell them what the whole point is?" Kakashi asked as he turned his attention towards me, as everyone else did the same.

I automatically straightened my back against the post, from all of the attention and pressure, as I began to answer Kakashi's question, "The point of this exercise was to learn about teamwork since that's the only reason why they assign us to different teams in the first place. If we had all come up with a plan together we would have passed the test but since we went our own ways we didn't get a bell, so we failed." As I was explaining my teammate's faces changed from their shock to understanding as they started to understand everything.

"Perfect Akina, that is exactly why we have these tests for all of you. But since you guys couldn't grasp that sooner you lose."

"But sensei even if we did come together and got the bells from you, only 3 of us would have passed since there are only 3 bells and four people. Which would have created inner conflict between the team and eventually the team would split apart." Sakura explained as she was getting closer to a very important point.

"I know I did this on purpose. I wanted to see if you would all stick work together and overcome this obstacle by putting the squad before yourself. As genin you should automatically feel the need for teamwork among yourselves, which was what Akina tried to do in the first place but you were all too blinded by your own selfishness. For example, Sakura when Akina woke you up from my Genjutsu your first thought was about Sasuke so you began to worry about the well-being of someone else, who wasn't even near you at the time, instead of even asking Akina to come with you or even work together to find him. Next was Naruto when you fell for my trap and was hanging upside down, who was it that cut you down instead of leaving you there to go after me. Oh that was Akina, and by the way you guys are so close I was quite shocked when you didn't even give her the time of day for her to ask you to work together. No you wanted to do everything on your own without any help at all. And lastly we have Sasuke who thought he was so far above you all that he thought you were worthless. In fact if it wasn't for Akina you would probably still be sitting in that whole while Akina could have left you there and go after me. Except she didn't, she was more worried about her team mate so she sacrificed her own chance to beat me when I had my guard to help you. That is just plain arrogance to the core. Even though it is important to each have your own set of skills the most important one that every shinobi he/she knows is teamwork, without it you **will** fail every mission without a doubt and people will die. Let me show you an example." I saw Kakashi pull a kunai from his weapons pouch and put it to Sasuke's throat. _'What the hell is he doing?' _I thought as I sat up more in my sitting position, my body tensing up ready to move if I have to.

"Sakura kill both Naruto and Akina now, or else Sasuke dies!" Kakashi was very serious as he looked at Sakura, waiting for her to react while holding his kunai too close to Sasuke's throat for my liking. I could feel my body tense up even more as an overwhelming strong wave of protectiveness washed over me, which almost made me want to attack Kakashi right then and there. And I could feel myself almost _**growl **_at him but I stopped myself before I could make a sound. _'What is going on with me? This has never happened to me before.' _I thought as I tried to silently calm myself down and pay attention to the situation. When I looked at Sakura she just stood there not knowing what to do while Naruto had a panicked look on his face, wondering whether or not if Sakura was going to do it.

"This is exactly what will happen on a mission if there is no teamwork, one of your comrades will pay the price for it. With their life." Kakashi-sensei explained as he removed the kunai away from Sasuke's throat which made my sudden protectiveness go away and my body was starting to relax as the tension was slipping away. Which was also the case with Naruto and Sakura since Sasuke wasn't in any danger anymore. We all watched as Kakashi-sensei got off of Sasuke and started walking towards a giant black stone.

"This stone is very important; on it are all of the names of shinobi who are considered heroes of this village." Kakashi said and I could hear the tone of his voice get lower and held sadness in it.

"That's it! I want to have my name engraved on that stone too! So that everyone will see that I am a hero, that I didn't' die for nothing." Naruto exclaimed with great enthusiasm. _'It looks like he doesn't fully understand the importance of this stone. But I do, my mother's name is written on it.' _I thought as I examined the stone from my seat on the ground, wondering where they had placed her name on it.

"Naruto each of these heroes are a special kind of hero." Kakashi tried explained to him.

"Well then what kind of hero are they then Kakashi-sensei! Please tell us!"

"They are all KIA, which means **K**illed **I**n **A**ction. This is a memorial stone for them; some of these names are the names of my closest friends." The smile on Naruto's face quickly disappeared when he fully processed Kakashi's words. It was a very silent moment as we stood/sat there thinking about all of the people who were on that stone.

After a few moments Kakashi turned around to face us and said, "I am willing to give you guys another chance but it won't be nearly as easy as the first task was. I'm going to give you 3 hours to get a bell so eat lunch to build up your strength, but **DO NOT **give Naruto any lunch since he tried to eat it earlier by himself. And if anyone of you tries to feed him you automatically fail, I make the rules around here and you have to follow them. Do you understand?" With that Kakashi gave us back our lunches and walked away to somewhere we didn't know. Sakura and Sasuke began to eat their lunches while I sat there for a moment just looking at mine. I looked at Naruto's face and saw that he was trying desperately to be strong and look like he wasn't hungry, but deep down I knew he was starving since he didn't eat any breakfast. _'It's okay if I fail it's not like this is going to stop me from becoming an Anbu Captain down the road, it will just take a little bit longer than expected.' _Suddenly Naruto's stomach made a loud growl which made chuckle a bit as his tough-guy expression was wiped off his face by embarrassment.

"Hey don't worry about me I can go for days, ha even weeks without having to eat. Believe It!" Although after he said it his stomach growled even louder than before. Shaking my head at Naruto's front of courage I moved my lunch box in front of his face just as Sasuke did the same thing and our boxes slightly bumped together. I looked at his face, my mind filled with curiosity as to why he was even helping Naruto in the first place. His face revealed nothing as he said to Naruto, "Here you need to eat something if we're ever going to get a bell from Kakashi."

"But Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei said that we will fail if we try to help him. Aren't you both afraid if what will happen if you do fail?" Sakura said as she had a fearful look in her eyes as they wondered around the clearing, trying to see if Kakashi was near.

"I will be more afraid if Naruto doesn't get any energy before we try to get the bells he will be useless to us. It will jeopardize not only the safety of our team but the mission as well." I said looking at Sakura with determination, trying to ease her worry and doubts away. She looked down at her lunch until she also put her lunch in front of Naruto's face, with more confidence than she had a few moments ago. During all of this Naruto had a look of utter disbelief and shock as he saw all of us wanting to help him, he actually had small tears in his eyes.

"Thank you guys so much, you're all the best."

"It's okay Naruto just hurry up and eat before we get caught. Besides I'm on a diet so I don't need to eat as much as you guys." Sakura said. A scared look came upon Naruto's face when Sakura said this and it confused me a little bit. _'I wonder what's wrong with Naruto, she was just telling him to eat when- wait. I think I understand now_.' I thought as I moved from the post I was leaning against to sit in front of Naruto, on my knees. I opened up my lunchbox to grab my chopsticks so that I could feed him some of my Korokke I made yesterday for dinner. With everyone's shocked face watching me I put the food in front of Naruto's face so that he would get the hint to open his mouth.

He looked at me with appreciation, and tears, in his eyes and said, "Akina you are the greatest friend I could have ever asked for."

"Thank you for the compliment Naruto, but for right now eat this so that we can complete this mission, okay. But just to let you know the only time I will ever do this again is because for some magical reason you broke both of your arms and you can't use them. Is that clear?" I said with an innocent smile on my face. Sweat appeared on his forehead as he understood what I had said to him.

"Don't worry Akina this only a onetime thing I promise." With that cleared up he took the Korokke in his mouth and started to chew it. As soon as he swallowed it I felt a sudden strong gust of wind blow from behind me and I could see smoke from the corner of my eye. Everyone was struggling to fight against the wind so they could what was going on. After the wind and smoke died down Kakashi was crouching in front of us with an evil glint in his eye.

"YOU!" He screamed very dramatically looking at all of us. Naruto started to freak out because of it but I was more upset with the fact that he made me drop my lunchbox. _'Asshole!' _I thought as I still sat in front of Naruto giving Kakashi a hard glare.

"You all broke the rule so now it is time for the consequences because of that." He straightened into a standing position as he started to perform hand signs. Dark clouds that were as black as the night sky rolled in and a giant drum of thunder was heard. Unpredictable flashes of lightning could be seen and one of them struck the ground right behind Kakashi which really made him somewhat scary. _'What the hell does he think he is doing? Is he trying to kill us?' _I thought as I continued to watch him wondering what he was going to do next.

"Any last words?"

"W-wait now hold on a minute. Y-you said that there were three of us and that's why they all helped me." Naruto answered as he looked around at all of us.

"We are all on this squad so we're all in this together." Sasuke said as he backed up Naruto. Sakura stopped shaking when she heard them both and added, "Yeah that's right we gave him our lunch because the four of us are all one."

"This means that if our teammate is in trouble then we will help them. Regardless of what the rules tell us to do. We are a team, no rules should tell us which of us should live or die." I added at the very end. Saying exactly what I believed in.

Kakashi stared at us with that hard look in his eye and said, "Is that your excuse? All of you are one." We all nodded at him without fear and with truth in our eyes. Suddenly his entire mood changed as he smiled and said, "You pass." We all looked at him as if he just grew a second head.

"What did you say?" Sakura asked for all of us.

"I said you passed."

'_WTF! You ruined my lunch for this?'_

* * *

**The end! Yay! I live (after dealing with problems I had to take care of and the time-consuming schedule that comes with being a junior in high school. Oh the fun of it. NOT) and another chapter is out but I am still looking for a beta reader because even though I try re-read my chapters it is hard because well to me everything looks fine. Except to you guys so either ask me to be my beta and/or review/private message me with criticism so that every chapter will improve. With this I sign off and hope you guys enjoy your week.**

** ~animerox023 and Akina Yukito**


	9. Memories

I opened my apartment door and closed it behind me with a _'click' _that resonated throughout the quiet apartment. I slowly trudged into my living room and laid my mother's katanas on my sofa, which I bought not too long ago with my inheritance, along with the bag that I had received from Hokage-sama that held my clan's scrolls. _'It really has been 7 years since that night.' _I thought as I stood there staring at what was left of my clan, my family.

* * *

**Flashback**

**Hokage-sama's office (No one's POV)**

The Hokage was sitting at his desk, the day's piles of paperwork finally completed; his eyes were closed as he puffed on his pipe. He looked as though he was in deep thought as he was surrounded by lit candles, since the sun was beginning to set. A soft knocking caused the Hokage to open his eyes and remove his pipe so he could answer.

"Come in."

The door opened and Akina walked into the room as she closed the door behind her.

"Hello Hokage-sama." Akina said with a small bow before sitting in the chair that was in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Hello Akina, I heard that you and your team passed Kakashi's test. That is quite amazing since all of the other teams given to him failed so congratulations to you." The Hokage said as a small smile graced his old face.

"Thank you Hokage-sama I admit Kakashi's test was a little bit difficult but we put our heads together and beat it."

"That is good, I'm glad to hear that. Now follow me for a minute so we can go get what you came here for, shall we." The Hokage stood up and walked towards the door as Akina did the same and followed behind him. They silently walked down a couple of hallways and down a few flights of stairs until Akina was sure that they were somewhere in the bottom half of the Hokage's mansion, near the basement. They walked down one hallway and the Hokage stopped at a door that had a sign that said _'Records Depository'. _

"We must keep this door locked at all times because it contains some documents that cannot get into the wrong hands." The Hokage said as he made a hand sign that made the door open. Akina simply nodded her head in understanding as she followed him into the room. When they entered the room candles were already lit as they were placed evenly throughout the room on the walls. The room was very wide so it could hold the very large bookcases in it. On these bookcases Akina could see so many different scrolls that she could barely count the ones on a lower shelf. They both walked down what looked like to be the main aisle, since it had a wide amount of walking space, until they stopped at one bookcase. On this bookcase there were wooden boxes on it instead of scrolls and they were aligned neatly next to each other and some were on top of others. As she looked closer see could see that there was a lock on each of the boxes but there wasn't a keyhole or anything to open them with. As her eyes traveled farther up she saw a little sign that made her eyes widen a bit, _'The Yukito Family'._

"Some of the bookcases in here are assigned to each of the clan that we have in our village; the Uchiha, Inuzuka, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Nara, Hyuuga, and the Nara clan. Usually what are contained here are family histories, documents, and whatever else they wish to have stored here. Even though your clan was not a part of this village it was decided that it would be best that we store your clan's documents here, although there were some things that your family kept to themselves. Just in case that if you would need them one day then you could come here and retrieve them." Akina was silent as she processed all of this information while still staring at the boxes. The Hokage could see that she needed a moment to process this so he went to one of the middle shelves and grabbed a large bag. Akina returned to the present when she noticed the Hokage had moved, and when he pulled the bag from the shelf that she realized she never noticed it among the many boxes.

"In this bag are some scrolls that your mother prepared for you if something ever happened to her and/or your family. I do not know what they say since, as I said earlier, only one with Yukito blood can read them." Akina looked at the Hokage with sadness but appreciation in her eyes.

"Thank you for everything Hokage-sama, this truly does mean everything to me."

"It is no problem Akina, just train hard and fulfill your dream. I believe that will make your mother happy."

"I think so too."

**The End**

* * *

I was still standing there, looking at my family's belongings, when I brought my mind back to the present. I sighed as I walked away from my couch and into my kitchen to grab something to drink before going to sleep. After getting my glass, filled with fruit punch, I walked into my bedroom and placed the glass on my nightstand. I started to take my clothes off, not really caring where they ended up since I would just pick them up in the morning. Grabbing my towel, I opened the door that connected my bedroom to my bathroom and turned the water on in my shower so that it was very hot. As I stepped into the burning water it immediately relaxed my muscles and cleared my mind of any emotion that I was feeling. This why I love taking hot showers. It allows me to reflect on my day and remember everything that happened. Right now my mind drifted mack to today's earlier events when we found out that we passed.

* * *

**Flashback**

**Training Grounds (Akina's POV)**

It was dead silent as Kakashi stood there looking at us while we all tried to comprehend the words he just said to us.

"Wait a minute Kakashi-sensei, how did we pass if we broke your rule?" Sakura asked for all of us.

"I told you guys not to feed Naruto on purpose because I wanted to see if you all would put the team above anything else. Also every squad that was given to me failed because none of them could think for themselves so they fell into every single trap. A ninja must be able to see through deception. In the ninja world those who break the rules are scum but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Suddenly Naruto started to giggle behind me and when I turned around he yelled, "YEAH! Akina we did it! We passed, HAHAHA!" My ears were ringing and my head was pounding as I replied sarcastically, "Really 'cause I couldn't hear him the first time and now I can't hear anything at all."

"Congratulations, you are now officially Squad 7. You start your first mission tomorrow." Kakashi said proudly. From the corner of my eye I could see Sakura smiling with happiness and excitement and Sasuke actually had a mix between a smile and smirk, if that's possible. I could feel my smile grow as my excitement towards the future grew.

"How about we all go get something to eat, my treat?" Kakashi asked as he motioned for all of us to follow him. We all got up to follow him and when we were almost out of the clearing someone yelled my name, "AKINA! You guys forgot to untie me."

"Oops, I really did forget that he was tied to the post." I said sheepishly as I ran back to him while Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura shook their heads in amusement.

**The End**

* * *

The funny memory ended and I didn't realize how out of it I was because I was already out of the shower putting my pajamas on, which consisted of a black tank top and black basketball shorts. I walked back to my bed and let myself fall onto my back so that I ended staring up at my ceiling. Without the comfort of the warm water to suppress my emotions, they came back at full force and I could feel myself start to tear up. Images of my home flashed before my eyes; my mom making me breakfast, playing hide-and-seek with Nakia, playing with some of the other kids in the forest, and letting Nanu rock me sleep because he was the only one who could do it when my mom wasn't home.

'_I love you all and I miss you so much mom.'_

I let the tears slide down my cheeks, not bothering to try and wipe them away; I just laid there on my bed crying in silence. I looked out of my window and saw how big the moon was and how, even though it was so beautiful and comforting, it looked so lonely.

'_Looks like we're the same you and I, we're both trying to find a place where we belong and where we're loved.'_

My tears disappeared as I laid there smiling at the moon until my eyes closed and my mind drifted into darkness.

The forest was quiet as the wind lightly caressed the trees and the birds sang their song into the air. The bright sun was beaming onto the earth, lighting the world with the natural colors of its children. The peace of the broken by a small dark blur running through the trees followed by four more larger blurs.

"This is Sasuke I'm at Point A the target is 20 meters ahead."

"This is Sakura I'm at Point B."

"Akina here at Point C."

"….."

"Naruto here at Point D! Believe it!"

"Naruto you're too slow. Alright everyone get ready to move in. Ready…NOW!"

"ALRIGHT I'M GOING FOR IT! BELIEVE IT!" Everyone immediately removed the headset from their ear when Naruto started yelling. Naruto jumped from his place behind a tree and lunged at the cat, and he caught the cat in his arms but regretted it when the cat started to attack his face. I immediately moved towards him and tried to pry the cat away from Naruto's face while Sasuke confirmed to Kakashi-sensei that we had the cat Tora.

"Is that the cat Tora? Check to see if it has the red bow on its left ear." Kakashi-sensei asked. Looking down at the cat there was indeed a red bow on its left ear.

"That's affirmative Kakashi. It's Tora." Sasuke answered in his normal bored/unemotional voice.

"Good job Team 7 report back in for your next mission."

"WHY DID WE GET SUCH A STUPID MISSION! I HATE CATS!"

* * *

**(No one's POV)**

"OHHH! My beloved Tora is finally back. I am never letting you out of my sight again!" yelled the excited women as she smothered the poor cat with her chest. The large woman than gave the Hokage the money and dragged the poor cat with her while it meowed in pain the entire time.

'_Poor thing.' _Akina thought as she watched the cat look at her with pleading eyes to help her.

"Ha that's what the stupid cat deserves." Naruto said as he watched with a smile on his face.

"The poor cat, no wonder it ran away." Sakura said, voicing our thoughts out loud.

"Alright Team 7 here are your choices for missions; you can babysit the councilman's son, help his wife with the groceries, dig up potatos, or-"

"No way gramps I'm sick of these baby missions! I want a real mission or something that actually challenges us! These are all chores!" Naruto demanded as he put his ams in an 'X' sign across his chest.

'I actually agree with Naruto for once.' Sasuke thought as he stood there with his usual bored expression on.

'Would you just shut up for once Naruto.' Sakura thought as she looked at Naruto with annoyance.

Kakashi sighed as he mumbled, "I knew this would happen sooner than later." Iruka, who was sitting next Hokage-sama, stood up fast and slammed his hands on the desk and started yelling, "How dare you! You are all brand new genin that have no experience. Like everybody else you will all start with simple missions so you can enhance your skills."

"You have got to be kidding me! How is babysitting a mission, it's just a stupid-Ouch!" Naruto face first on the floor since Kakashi punched him on top of his head before he could say anything else.

"Naruto, would you please put a lid on it?" Kakashi pleaded while Naruto rubbed the bruise on his head. Akina watched with a little smile on her face as she could see that Naruto was in for a lecture from Hokage-sama.

"Naruto, it seems that you don't understand the tasks that you are given. We get all kinds of requests from people every day that range from babysitting to assassinations. Each of these requests are recorded and analyzed so that they may be ranked A, B, C, or D; depending on the level of difficulty. It's the same way ninja are ranked based on their abilities; Hokage at the top then Jounin, Chunin, and then Genin at the bottom. Each request is given to ninja who have the abilities and the experience to complete the request. In return, if the mission is successful, we are given a fee that supports our village and our ninja. As new Genin you will be given low ranking missions since you barely have any experience." The Hokage gasped when he realized no one was paying attention to him because Naruto was talking to everyone about what kind of ramen he should eat.

"Silence!" yelled the annoyed Hokage, which caused everyone pay attention to him again.

"Sorry about that." Kakashi said as he rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Why are you always lecturing me as if you're my grandfather? I'm not the brat who used to pull all of those pranks. I am a ninja now and I want a ninja mission." It was silent for a minute except when Kakashi mumbled about "How he was going to hear about this later." Iruka chuckled a little bit and the Hokage gained a smile on his face as if he had something planned.

"So Naruto wants us to know that he's not a brat anymore but a former brat and he wants a ninja mission. So be it then." Everyone had a surprised look on their face since no one thought that the Hokage would give in to Naruto.

"Since you seem so determined I will give you a C-rank mission. You will be bodyguards for a journey."

"Really? For who? A princess or a really important councilman!" Naruto asked with excitement in his voice.

"You will meet him in a minute. Send in the client." Soon the door opened up revealing an old man who was holding a beer bottle in his hand. The blush on his cheeks would tell anyone that he was slightly drunk. His hair was already completely gray and he wore a long brown shirt that had a purple sash wrapped around his hip area and khaki pants. A white rope was tied around his forehead and he wore glasses that sat on the end of his nose.

"What is this? These snot-nosed kids are supposed to protect me? Just look at the little one with the stupid look on his face, is he really a ninja?" Suddenly Naruto started as he asked "Which one has the stupid look in his-Huh?" Everyone came together so that he could see that Sasuke and Akina were about the same height, Sakura was only an inch or two shorter, which left Naruto being the shortest. Akina held Naruto back when he started to lunge at the old man yelling, "I'll demolish you! Just wait until I get my hands on you!"

"Naruto you can't demolish the client, it's not how this works." Kakashi said with a sigh as he helped to calm Naruto down.

"My name is Tazuna, I am a Master Bridge Builder and I need to get back to my country. I am building a bridge there that will change our world so I expect you all to get me home safely, even if it means giving up your life."

* * *

**The end for right now! Now that AP tests are over and I have my SAT scores I can finally get back into the swing of things on fanfiction. Tune in for the next chapter! Please review me and tell me if I made any mistakes or if you have any _constructive _criticism.  
**

**Also I am still looking for beta reader message me to see if you're interested!**


	10. Adventure Time!

**Hello everybody! Yes I am alive and No I haven't abandoned this story. I've just been enjoying my summer vacation and my AP school work. So here is the latest chapter and as always if anything seems weird or it doesn't make sense I always enjoy_ constructive _criticism from anyone. All will be read and replied to, as long as you're signed in so that I can.**

**STILL LOOKING FOR A BETA! PM me if you're interested!  
**

* * *

"WOOHOO! YEAH!" Naruto yelled excitedly as he ran ahead of the group outside of the village gates. He was acting like a little kid who was exploring some unknown environment by the way he was looking around at everything. Although there wasn't much to look at since there was only the road that lead out of the village and the forest that surrounded us.

"What are you so excited about Naruto?" Akina asked when she caught up to him.

"This is my first time leaving the village ever! I'm finally a traveler now, BELIEVE IT!" He replied with his usual hyperness.

"Kakashi, do you really expect me to trust my life with this runt? He's nothing but a joke." Tazuna said as he pointed at Naruto.

"Don't worry I'm a Jounin so there is nothing to be worried about." Kakashi replied calmly while Naruto looked like he was ready to hurt the old man.

"Don't worry Naruto, you'll get a chance to show him what you're made of." Akina whispered to Naruto to help calm him down. His angry expression disappeared as his signature smile spread across his face.

'_That's better.'_ Akina thought as she watched Naruto give the old man a lecture in how he was going to the Hokage one day.

"Once I become Hokage you'll have to look up to me so remember my name! Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Aren't Hokage supposed to be powerful and wise, look at you. You're just puny and brainless. The day you become Hokage is the day I'm gonna sprout wings and fly." Tazuna said as he kept drinking his liquor.

"AHH! Do you ever shut up! I will anything to become Hokage and when I do everyone will have to respect me including you!"

"Hah, you can become Hokage a 100 times over. You're still going to be nobody to me."

"That is it!" Naruto yelled as he was ready to hit the old man but luckily Kakashi caught him and held him back before he could.

"That's enough Naruto. What did I say about not trying to kill the client?" Kakashi said. Although Naruto didn't hear him as he was struggling to try and beat up the old man.

Akina, Sasuke, and Sakura were watching the scene with annoyance in their eyes at the fact that they were being slowed down because of this.

'_This is going to be a long day.'_ Akina thought as she followed the old man who had started walking ahead of them. A slight chill ran up her spine as if they were being watched and, while still walking normally, she slightly let her chakra loose to sense if there was somebody watching. Her chakra spread like a tiny veil over the ground as it spread into the forest around them. At first she sensed the usual chakra of bugs and plants until she found what she was looking for. She quickly brought her chakra back in as she did a mental sigh.

'_It's going to be a long day indeed.'_

* * *

"Hey, Mr. Tazuna." Sakura asked. It had been a couple of hours since they left the village and so far nothing had happened. Although it didn't make Akina lower her guard for an instance because if her instincts were right than she needed to be on her toes to protect her team.

"What do you want?" he said while still drinking his bottle of liquor.

"You're from the Land of Waves right?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Kakashi-sensei is there ninjas in the Land of Waves?"

"No, there isn't. In other countries though there are Hidden Villages of ninja, each one different in terms of customs and culture. In this continent shinobi are seen as military strength, to protect their countries and keep balance with other countries. These ninja villages are independent of any government and they all have equal status. The Land of Waves is a small island surrounded by water so it already has natural protection; so there isn't any need for ninjas. There are only 5 nations that have Hidden Villages; Land of Fire, Water, Lightning, Wind, and Earth. They are known as the 5 Great Shinobi Nations. Only the leaders of each Hidden Village are given the title 'Kage' which means shadow; Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, and Tsuchikage. These are the 5 great shadows that command thousands of ninja."

"Wow Lord Hokage is really important." Sakura said with new found appreciation in her eyes although it looked like there was a hint of doubt in there. Naruto looked like he was having trouble trying to believe what Kakashi just said.

'_Yeah right I got that old man with my sexy jutsu. He can't possibly-'_

"Hey! You all just doubted Lord Hokage didn't you." Akina watched in amusement as Naruto and Sakura were trembling in fear of what Kakashi would do to them.

"Don't worry there aren't any ninja battles in a C-ranked mission so you guys can relax." Kakashi said in his laid-back yet calm way. At this information both Sasuke and Naruto looked slightly disappointed that they weren't going to fight anybody. All the while Akina still had the feeling that things were not going to go as planned as her team continued on down the road.

* * *

Things went quiet again as the group continued to travel down the path, the only thing they could hear were the birds chirping and the rustle of the leaves in the wind. It had been a couple of hours since Kakashi's history lesson and nothing eventful had happened since then. The group soon crossed a small wooden bridge that had a steady flow river running beneath it. Everyone was relaxed as the group walked by a small puddle that was placed near the side of the road even though it had been weeks since it had rained. Kakashi took a second glance at it and when he turned looked back he caught the gaze of two dark violet eyes asking him a silent question. Kakashi slightly nodded his head as his answer and the two continued on as if their silent conversation never happened. As they continued walking a head poked out of the small puddle; his face had a mask covering his mouth and his forehead protector had a metal crown on it. His entire body, which was covered by a black coat, appeared out of the puddle along with another figure. The person jumped over the startled group while at the same time wrapping Kakashi in their spiked chain. Each end of the chain was connected to a metal claw on one of their hands.

"Hey what's going on!"

"Kakashi-sensei."

"Let it rip!" One of the ninjas yelled as they both pulled on their chain which shredded Kakashi into tiny pieces.

"Kakashi-sensei! NO!" Naruto yelled unaware that both ninjas were behind him. His face suddenly became pale when he heard them chuckling in excitement.

"Now it's your turn to die." One of them whispered as they both prepared to strike Naruto with their chain. A whoosh sound followed by a thump caught their attention as they saw that their chain was struck by a shuriken as it embedded the chain into a tree. Followed by a kunai being thrown into the shuriken's hole to keep it there. Both of them struggled to get their chain loose but it was no good.

"Damnit I can't get loose." The one with the dark coat said. Sasuke landed in-between them each foot on their arms. He pushed his weight on his hands on he kicked both of the ninja in the face cause the chain to break off from their metal claw. Although once they were free the one in the black coat went after the bridge builder while the other one went after Naruto. Naruto stood there in shock not realizing that he had to defend himself from the ninja ready to kill him luckily Akina beat him first. She punched him in the face first which pushed him back a couple of feet and then she reappeared in the air as she did a full roundhouse kick which the knocked the guy back-first into a nearby tree. Naruto was still standing there in the same spot, not in fear, but in awe that his friend took down a higher-ranked ninja with only a little bit of effort. She had moved flawlessly with each step as if this was second nature to her and the look in her eyes was that of a real ninja. Emotionless. Never revealing anything that your enemy could use against you in battle.

Akina panted slightly as she watched the ninja who was laid back against the tree that know had a slight dent in it. She watched his breathing to make that she didn't kill him and to make sure that he was knocked out. Looking to her left she smiled slightly at the fact that Naruto was standing there with his mouth open and he looked at her as if he couldn't believe what just happened.

"What's wrong Naruto cat got your tongue?" She said playfully as he still stood there. Suddenly he had her in his death-grip hug as he swung her in a circle while yelling excitedly.

"YEAH! You're so awesome Akina it was so cool how you came out of nowhere and then there you were. And you punched that sucker in the face and he was blown away. And then you used your super speed to kick him in the face and then BAM! He was down for the count! I mean you are my new hero and the greatest friend ever! BELIEVE IT!"

"Naruto put her down or else she will die from lack of oxygen."

"Huh?" Naruto said as he turned around, while loosening his grip on Akina, and looked into his sensei's eye. He stood there perfectly fine without a scratch on him and under his right arm was the ninja in the black coat that went after the bridge builder.

"Kakashi-sensei! But I thought you were-" Naruto looked over at the spot where Kakashi's remains were supposed to be but instead he saw pieces of logs on the ground.

'_So sensei used the Replacement Jutsu!'_

Kakashi walked over to the tree and grabbed the unconscious ninja under his left arm and turned to face Naruto.

"Naruto I'm sorry I didn't help you back there I didn't think you would freeze up like that. Luckily you had someone there to help you when I couldn't but that will not always be the case. So you must be careful Naruto."

Off to the side the bridge builder let out the breath he had been holding and relaxed.

'_So these guys can protect me after all.' _

"Good job out there Sasuke, very smooth and you too Sakura. Good job as well Akina you were unnoticed yet fierce, those are very good traits to have as a shinobi."

After finally regaining her breathe from Naruto's hug Akina replied, "Thanks sensei."

"Mr. Tazuna." Kakashi said without facing him.

"Yeah." He replied nervously.

"We need to talk."

* * *

**OOOH Tazuna is in trouble. Hope you guys enjoyed it I try to stay along with the show but with my twists here and there. As always I love reviews from anybody so don't be afraid of the comment box down below.**

**Longer chapter next time. PROMISE!  
**


	11. Let's Go Wild

**Hey guys I know it's been awhile but what can I say I had other things to do and whatnot. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this chapter because it's one of my longest and I tried my best to give my own twist here and there.**

**I'M STILL LOOKING FOR A BETA SO MESSAGE ME IF YOU WANT TO!  
**

* * *

The mist was like a thick blanket; it laid over everything that it was hard to see what was in front of you. It also gave off an ominous chill to because it was so quiet; as if nothing was living in it. But it was perfect if you were trying not to get caught which is what Team 7 and Tazuna were doing as they sat in a small wooden boat. Everyone was silent as the boat slowly drifted through the mist; heading in the direction of The Land of Waves. The only thing that disturbed the silence was the rowing of the boat owner as he lifted the oar in and out of the water to steer the boat. From where they were, even through the thick fog, the bridge stuck out like a sore thumb. Even though it stood unfinished it still stood with a majestic air around it, it was as if it understood the great importance of what it would bring to the people on the island.

"We're almost there. The Land of Waves isn't too far away.", said the boat owner.

"Tazuna.", Kakashi said. Tazuna looked at him already knowing what he was going to say.

"There is something we need to discuss before we reach the pier. Who is after you and why? If you do not tell us then I will end this mission as soon as we dock."

"Do not worry, I will tell you everything. You guys deserve to know. It's true that we're beyond the scope of this mission. The man who is after me is one of the wealthiest men in the world. Yet he casts the longest and deadliest shadow, Gato of Gato Transport."

"But he's a business leader, everyone knows who he is.", Kakashi said with disbelief in his voice.

"Akina who is that guy?", Naruto, tried to, whisper to her.

"Just listen.", she said as she paid attention to Tazuna again.

Tazuna took a deep breath before speaking. "Yes he is a business man at first appearance but beneath the mask he is a ruthless and merciless thug. He sells drugs and contraband to take control of nations and businesses. And he uses ninja to do all of the dirty work. It was about a year ago when Gato first laid his eyes on the Land of Waves. By using his vast wealth he took over everything in sight and if anyone dared to defy him they would simply vanish. Never seen or heard from again. On an island nation if you own the sea then you own everything; our government, finances, and our very lives. There is only one thing that can stop this monster and that is the bridge. Once the bridge is complete we will be connected to the main land and Gato will lose his control over us."

"So that's why he's after you, because you're the bridge builder.", Sakura said as the story made sense to everybody.

"It means that those guys back in the forest were hired by Gato.", Sasuke chimed in.

"But what I don't understand is that if you knew about Gato's resources and the consequences of what you were doing, why not tell us?", Kakashi asked still debating whether or not if they should still help.

"After Gato seized everything The Land of the Waves became a poor country. Even our nobles have very little money. The people who are building this bridge are common folk, A and B-ranked missions cost too much. If you do not continue this mission there will be no bridge and our hope of freeing my people will die with me. Once I reach land they will kill me before I make it home." Everyone was quiet as Kakashi was silently deciding if they would help. Akina looked over at the old man as saw as his eyes widened briefly as if he just had a brilliant idea.

"But don't worry about it. I'm sure that my poor grandson will understand why I won't be home for dinner. He'll just cry out _"Grandpa! Grandpa! I want my Grandpa!" _And my daughter will drown in her sorrows and condemn the Leaf Village for the rest of her life. Blaming them for letting her poor old father be assassinated. Forget it, it won't be your guy's fault that it happened."

'_This old man is pretty funny even though he needs work on his acting skills. But it looks like he got everyone's acceptance.' _Akina thought as she was trying hard not to laugh at the situation.

Kakashi had this defeated look on his face as he began to scratch the back of his head sheepishly. "Then it looks like we have no choice. We will keep guarding you."

Tazuna pretended to have this surprised look on his face as he said, "Oh I am so grateful that you're doing this for me.

'_Suckers.'_ Tazuna and Akina thought at the same time.

Some time had passed since the discussion before the boat owner spoke to the group.

"We'll reach the shore in a few minutes." As those few minutes passed they reached a dark tunnel. But once they entered the dark tunnel they could see that the sun was shining on the other side. The sunlight was much welcomed to the young shinobi of Team 7 since they were so used to the sunshine in the Leaf, except for Akina who was already used to the mist; given the fact that she grew up in the Village Hidden in the Mist. The man steered the boat until it had stopped next to a small wooden pier and began to secure the boat so that his passengers could get off.

"Thank you for taking such a big risk by bringing us here.", Tazuna said to the man. The man just shook his head and said, "Just be careful and good luck to you all." With that said he turned his motor on and steered his boat back towards the bridge. All was silent as we watched him disappear back into the mist. All of us watching as we knew that there was no going back now.

It was a calming silence as everyone was walking down a dirt road that lead to Tazuna's village. Naruto and Akina were ahead of the group followed by Sasuke and Sakura, much to Sakura's delight and Sasuke's annoyance, and Kakashi and Tazuna brought up the rear. Sakura kept trying to get Sasuke to talk to her but all she got was silence in return as he was trying his hardest to ignore her. To make her be quiet Sasuke walked faster until he was walking on Akina's right side. Naruto took notice that someone else was walking with them and his eyes saw that it was Sasuke his anger from what happened earlier rose like a phoenix rising from its ashes.

* * *

Naruto watched, from his spot next to Tazuna, as Kakashi was tying the two assassins to a large tree with chains. Both Sakura and Akina were next to him to make sure that they two ninja wouldn't try to escape. Naruto sighed as he replayed the fighting he had seen only minutes ago; that way Akina came out of nowhere and saved him and the way Sasuke had thrown the kunai and shuriken to break the enemy's chain. His hand curled into a small fist.

'_What the hell am I doing?! The way Akina and Sasuke took down those two guys makes me feel like a coward. They were both so smooth and they looked so calm as if it was child's play. I need to catch up to them. I just need to-'_

"Hey."

Naruto looked in front of him and standing there was the one and only Sasuke Uchiha. He took notice that Sasuke had his stupid cocky smirk on his face as he was looking straight at Naruto.

"You're not hurt are you? Scaredy cat."

'_What the hell is with the cat references?'_, Naruto thought as his anger flared and his hands closed into fists.

"SASUKE!"

* * *

As the memory faded Naruto realized that his hands had closed into fists without him really being aware of it.

'_That's it! I am going to show up Sasuke once and for all!'_ With determination Naruto ran in front of the group, causing them to stop in confusion, and started to look around as if he was searching for something. Naruto stopped to stare at a bush, his eyes widened as he took out a kunai and threw it at the bush while yelling, "Over there!"

"No wait there!"

"Naruto calm down, those are throwing kunai. You could hurt someone with those."Kakashi said who was getting nervous at the fact that Naruto might actually hurt someone.

"Ha I got you!" Naruto yelled as he threw another kunai into a bush. Before he could go investigate Sakura ran up to him and slapped him across the back of his head.

"Naruto are you trying to scare us to death!? Don't go around throwing kunai at random places when there isn't anything there!" As Sakura was scolding Naruto though Kakashi went behind the bush and found a white rabbit. The poor thing was curled into a tight ball and his eyes were wide with fear. The kunai, that Naruto had thrown, was imbedded in a tree right above the rabbit's head. Everyone else saw the rabbit which only made Sakura yell at Naruto some more.

"Now look at what you did Naruto! You almost killed the poor thing."

OH no! I'm sorry poor rabbit I didn't mean to try and kill you with my kunai." Naruto said while he was on his knees cuddling the rabbit. As he did Kakashi continued to stare at the bunny in confusion.

'_This rabbit still has its winter coat even though it's summer. This means that this rabbit grew up indoors.' _Without anyone noticing Kakashi quickly scanned the area and tried to see if there were any other chakra sources nearby.

"Everyone get down now!" he yelled. Just as everyone was laying face down on the ground a giant sword whipped through the air, like a shuriken, until it became imbedded into a tree. A man appeared on the hilt of the large sword in a crouched position with his back to us. He wore no shirt, which showed off his pale skin and large muscles, but he had a belt wrapped around him to hold his great sword. On his arms he wore camo style arm-warmers and he wore grey pants with pockets here and there to hide his weapons. As he stood up he turned is face toward us. Like Kakashi the lower half of his face was hidden by white bandages, only his dark brown eyes could be seen.

"Zabuza Momochi, Rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist."Kakashi said as he stood up, never taking his eyes off of Zabuza. Akina was stunned when Kakashi mentioned his name because he was so well known in the Village.

'_Of all the missions we have to face one of the deadliest ninjas out there. A group made up of 4 genin, a bridge builder, and only one jounin. I don't know how the hell we're going to pull this one off.'_ Akina thought as she mentally prepared herself for the long battle ahead.

"And you are Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye, if I remember." At this statement Sasuke looked at Kakashi in disbelief.

'_That's impossible he can't be an Uchiha!'_

"now hand over the old man before I kill all of you." Everyone, except for Kakashi and Akina, looked at him in surprise at what he said.

"Quick get into Manji Formation and protect the bridge builder. Stay out of this fight , I will handle him. Now I taught you teamwork so it's time that you start using it." Kakashi moved his left hand up towards his face and grabbed his headband. As he lifted the headband up it revealed a long healed scar that went straight down the middle of his left eye. His eye opened revealing a blood red eye that had 3 comma markings surrounding the pupil.

"Okay, I'm ready."

"I feel honored that I get to see the Sharingan in action."Zabuza said as he fully turned his body towards Kakashi.

"Wait! What the heck is the Sharingan? Everyone keeps saying it but I don't know what it is!" Naruto yelled out in frustration.

"The Sharingan is a rare power that resides in the eyes. The user of this visual jutsu, or doujutsu, can instantly see and comprehend any Genjutsu, Taijutsu, and Ninjutsu. And they're able to reflect the attack back on to their enemies. The Sharingan is a unique and rare form of doujutsu but there is much more to the Sharingan than that. Much more." Sasuke explained to everyone but he was staring off into the distance.

"So far you've got it right boy but you've barely scratched the surface. The Sharingan can analyze an opponent's technique and copy it to the tiniest detail. As for you Kakashi, in the assassination unit of the Hidden Mist, we had a standing order to kill you on sight. Your profile was in our bingo book, they said you were the man who copied over a thousand jutsus. Kakashi the Copy-Ninja."

'_Wow is Kakashi-sensei really that famous and powerful?' _Sakura thought.

"Wow that's so cool." Naruto said in awe at his sensei.

'_I still don't understand how Kakashi has the Sharingan when only a few members of the Uchiha Clan can inherit it. Could he be an Uchiha too?'_ Sasuke thought as he stared at Kakashi in confusion.

"That's enough talking, I'm here to kill the old man." Zabuza said as he crouched on the hilt of his sword.

"Now." With that one command the genin surrounded Tazuna in the Manji Formation. Each one on all sides of Tazuna; Sasuke in the front, Naruto on his left, Akina was on his right, and Sakura was protecting the back. All of the genin had a kunai in their hand as they tried to stay calm and focused.

"So it look like I'll have to kill you first, eh Kakashi. Then so be it." In a flash Zabuza pulled his sword out of the tree and landed on top of the small pond that was nearby.

"He's over there!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Look he's standing on top of the water!" Sakura said in surprise.

'_Have they never seen this before?'_ Akina thought as she wasn't stunned by the fact that Zabuza was standing on top of the water. In the Mist Village it was very common since they were very close to water. Akina watched as Zabuza held his left arm in the air with his middle and index fingers extended. While his right arm was in front of his chest, his index and middle fingers extended as well.

'_He's building a large amount of chakra.'_ Kakashi observed as he waited for Zabuza to make his move.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" It was as if someone laid a blanket over the area because the mist became so thick that the genin could barely see their sensei.

"Sensei he's gone." Sakura pointed out as Zabuza was indeed nowhere to be seen.

"He's going to come after me first." Kakashi said to them; a warning laced in his voice.

"Who is he exactly?" Asked Sakura.

"He's Zabuza Momochi, the Ex-Leader of the Hidden Mist's assassination unit. He's the master of the Silent-Killing Technique." Akina explained.

Naruto's face paled as he stuttered, "S-silent Killing?"

"Yes there is no sound, no warning. You would have already passed into the next life before you can even register that you died in the first place. The Sharingan can't fully neutralize it so don't lower your guard." Everyone was silent as the tension increased and the fear was trying to creep in. "Well if we fail we're only going to lose our lives."

"Sensei how can you even say that?!" exclaimed Sakura. As the moments passed the mist become thicker making it harder to see Kakashi.

"Hey the mist is getting thicker." Said Naruto.

"The mists are always present in the Land of Waves because we are surrounded by the ocean." Tazuna explained. As silence overcame the area the genin soon lost sight of their sensei.

"Sensei?" Said a worried Sakura.

"Eight points." Everyone perked up as they heard Zabuza's voice float over the area making it impossible to tell where he is.

"Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subgluteal artery, kidneys, heart."

Akina's eyes widened slightly as she knew why he named those eight points.

'_The eight kill points of the body.'_

"Now which one shall be my kill point?"Zabuza said in a dead tone. The air became thick with tension and fear as Zabuza's words settled in. In the mist Kakashi made a handsign and his chakra began to gather around him in a swirling motion. He let his chakra push out in a big burst causing the mist to be pushed away from the area. The chakra washed over the group of genin like silk letting them sense Kakashi's power and bloodlust. It gave them all a chill as goose bumps appeared on their skin and their hair began to stand up.

'_This thirst for blood is intense.'_ Sasuke thought as he began to slightly tremble, causing Akina to notice as she began to worry about her teammate.

'_One tiny movement will bring instant death. If this goes on I might go insane. I've never felt this chill before, brought on by the bloodlust of two jounin preparing to kill. It feels as though my own life is on the line.' _The kunai was gripped tightly in both of his hands and unconsciously they started to move up, the point of the kunai tilting towards him. His breathing became more labored as the fear twisted his thoughts and continued to spread throughput his body as if ice was spreading through his veins.

'_I can't bare it any longer, I'd rather take my own life then-'_

His thought was stopped immediately as a soft warm hand was placed on his. Looking down he could see that the hand was indeed there and that it came from someone on his right. As he turned to his right he caught the gaze of two dark violet eyes, worry was the expression he could read. He allowed her to ease his grip on his kunai and return his hands to their defense position, their eyes never looking away from the other. He allowed himself to calm down as he stared at her until the fear was out of his system and he was in control again. She looked him over once more and when she was satisfied she let him go and returned to her defense stance her eyes no longer readable. Sasuke turned around as he took a deep breath, the bloodlust in the air no longer bothering him. He saw that Kakashi was looking at him as if he could sense his fear.

"Sasuke stay calm. I will protect all of you with my life, I will not allow my comrades to die. Trust me." This helped to ease, not only Sasuke, but Naruto and Sakura as well. All of them finding new respect for their sensei.

"Don't make a promise you can't keep Kakashi." He was suddenly there. Zabuza stood in a crouched position with his eyes closed and his hand making the same hand-sign as earlier. The left was holding the handle of his sword which was resting across his back. Zabuza opened his eyes and said, "It's over." Kakashi turned around looking at Zabuza, his image reflecting in the Sharingan. Both moved to fast to see. As Zabuza began to swing his sword Kakashi was already there a kunai plunged into Zabuza's gut. The genin got out of the way as fast as they could; Akina and Sakura grabbing the bridge builder. Liquid poured out of Zabuza and onto the ground but the liquid wasn't blood, it was water.

"Sensei behind you" yelled Naruto pointing behind Kakashi. The fake Zabuza fell into a puddle of water on the ground as the real Zabuza sliced Kakashi in half when he was still turning around. Confusion showed itself in Zabuza's eyes as Kakashi's body turned into water.

'_When did he do a water clone jutsu? _Zabuza thought. A kunai was pressed against his neck as he was trying to think.

"Don't move." Kakashi said as he was standing behind Zabuza holding the kunai at his neck.

'_He is more of an opponent than I thought he would be. He saw right through my jutsu, even in the mist, and copied it when he made his little speech. This will be fun.'_

"Now it's over Zabuza. You're finished." After a moment Zabuza began to chuckle as if this was all a joke.

"Me finished? You really don't understand do you? Your technique is nothing but cheap imitations, I will never be defeated by a low copy-cat ninja like you."Another chuckle passed through his lips as he could feel Kakashi's irritation.

"I'll admit you do surprise me. You copied my Water Clone Jutsu when you made your stupid little speech, it was very skillfully executed. You only said those things to draw my attention so that you could hide in the mist. Waiting for me to make my move. It was a nice try but-"

As the Zabuza turned into water another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, "Not good enough." Zabuza swung his sword to cut Kakashi in half _for real_ this time but Kakashi ducked at the last minute. When the sword hit the ground Zabuza switched hands and used the momentum to kick Kakashi hard in the chest which sent him flying all the way into the water. Zabuza ran after him, sword in hand, but he stopped when he reached the edge of the water.

"Hmph Akibichi spikes, as if that would have stopped me." He turned around and did a back flip in the air, landing in the water.

"Sensei!" Naruto shouted trying to locate Kakashi.

'_I can't believe how Kakashi-sensei was kicked in the air like that. What are we going to do?'_ thought Sakura.

"His physical abilities are exceptional." Sasuke said to himself as he remembered the strength of the kick. Sasuke looked to around at his teammates and noticed that Akina was staring at the water as if there was something there.

'_What is she looking at?'_ He thought as he looked at the water seeing nothing. Kakashi appeared from beneath the water gasping for air but the water didn't feel right to him.

'_Something feels different about the water.' _His suspicion was confirmed when Akina yelled to him, " Sensei you need to get out of the water now!" But she was too late. Zabuza stood behind Kakashi and began performing multiple hand-signs.

"You fool, Water Prison Jutsu!"

"No!" A sphere of water enclosed around Kakashi, trapping him in one place. Zabuza's right arm was inside of the sphere to hold it together.

"This prison may be made of water but it's stringer than steel. You can't fight if you're stuck in one spot. So much for the great Copy-Cat Ninja. I'll finish you off later but before that say good-bye to your little students." Making a sign with is left hand he said, "Water Clone Jutsu." Water began to rise and began to take on the shape of Zabuza. The clone stepped off of the lake and onto the land near the genin and bridge builder.

"Whoever called you shinobi are fools. Only when you have been on the border of life and death so many times will you be shinobi. When you have become so deadly that your name is entered into my bingo book, then you will have earned the title of shinobi. But to call weaklings like you shinobi is a joke." Suddenly he disappeared as the mist became thick once again. Naruto let out a surprise gasp as he was sent flying into the air, his head band falling off from the force of Zabuza's kick. It clinked as it landed on the ground before Zabuza stepped on it.

"You're all just a bunch of brats."

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

From the within the sphere Kakashi called out to them, though his voice muffled by the water.

"Everyone listen! Get the bridge builder and get out of here! The water clone can't go far from the original body. This is a fight you can't win now run!"

'_Running can't be an option sensei. It wasn't an option anymore the moment you landed in that water. Either way he would hunt us down and eliminate us on the spot. We have to fight our way out but we need you.'_ The promise of a fight had run through her veins preparing her body for whatever pain she may experience and the adrenaline washed away her doubt. As she looked around Akina saw that Naruto, Sakura, and Tazuna were trembling like leaves as they stared at Zabuza. She noticed wasn't anymore he had this look of determination in his eyes and body, she didn't recognize him as the trembling boy from 5 minutes ago.

'_At least someone will fight with me.'_ She thought as she watched Sasuke attack. He ran towards Zabuza throwing shuriken at him which he deflected with his sword. Sasuke used this opportunity of momentary blindness to jump in the air and attack him with a kunai from above. Zabuza was stunned for a second until he saw Sasuke in the air.

'_Too easy.'_ He thought as he caught Sasuke's neck in a tight hold and then threw him to the side like a rag doll.

"Sasuke no!" Sakura yelled.

"H-he got Sasuke." Naruto said as he slowly turned to face Zabuza, his fear taking over his mind and body.

'_So this is what a jounin really is, a unique ninja. I-I have to get out of here before he kills me.' _As Naruto turned around to get away he didn't see Zabuza grab the hilt of his sword.

"Naruto watch out!" Kakashi yelled from inside the water prison. The sound of metal hitting metal silenced the area. Naruto turned around confused as to why he wasn't hurt. Standing in front of was Akina using two kunai to hold off Zabuza's sword. Akina was panting slightly from her effort but she refused to give in, it wasn't in her nature to.

'_This girl is impressive being able to hold off not only the sword but she is trying to match my strength as well. She's an impressive one indeed.' _While he was in thought he didn't notice Akina building up chakra in her arms. In one quick motion she raised both of her arms lifting his sword out of the way and kicked the clone in the gut hard. The clone was beyond shocked as his body went flying backwards and landed near the edge of the lake on his feet. Everyone was shocked at Akina's display of her power and control never expecting she could do something like that. The clone stood up over his shock and began to chuckle as he did before.

"Well well you truly are something. You're above the level of these weaklings so where did you learn to control your power?" Zabuza asked.

"From the same place that you're from." Akina answered to him.

"Hm so you're from the Village Hidden in the Mist too. Then I shouldn't be surprised that you have such control. The Leaf Village always was too soft on their kids, babying them in everything. While the Hidden Mist was always pitting you against one another and teaching the kids how to harness their bloodlust early. We aren't made to be soft like them."

"You're right we aren't made to be as soft as them.", Akina said as she picked up Naruto's headband, "But if you only have bloodlust to drive you in missions then you will become a monster, an empty soul whose sole purpose is to destroy. The Leaf Village's 'softness' allows people to remain somewhat human and not a killing machine." Akina gave Naruto his headband back and turned to face him again.

"We are not the same you enjoy the kill for pleasure and I will only kill to protect those who need to be protected." Zabuza narrowed his eyes at her as she did the same.

'_Akina protected me when I tried to run away like some pathetic coward. I won't let my fear get to me again as long as I have my friends with me I can do it! I am a ninja now, BELIEVE IT!' _Naruto snapped out of his thoughts and let Akina's words encourage him to speak.

"Hey freak with no eyebrows write this in your bingo book. The ninja who will become Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Someone who will never back down, Naruto Uzumaki. And his greatest ANBU captain Akina Yukito. Remember it." The mood changed in the air as both Naruto and Akina's words brought back the hope in everyone's hearts.

"Hey Sasuke can you hear me?" Naruto whispered.

"Yeah what do you want?" Sasuke replied.

"I have a plan."

"So you finally started to think about teamwork."Sasuke turning to him.

"So what's the plan boss man?" Akina asked as they came closer together.

'_Naruto really has changed since we left the village, he looks so determined now.' _Sakura thought as she was awed by Naruto's 'transformation'.

"Alright guys. LET'S GO WILD!"

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed it cause it took some work. As always review please! **


	12. The Boy

**Now that things have calmed down in my senior year of high school I can finally get back to this story that I have abandoned for far too long. I want to apologize if this chapter is bad because I struggle with fight scenes and Akina doesn't have a big role in this chapter but we will get back to her next chapter. So I hope everyone had a great christmas and you all enjoy the brand new year.I am happy now especially since I got an iphone 5 and I basically wrote 1/2 of this chapter on it. ;)**

**ENJOY!  
**

* * *

The air was silent in the misty clearing, the tension climbing again. Naruto, Sasuke, and Akina stood side by side as they waited to put their plan in motion. Sakura watched on from her spot in front of Zabuza slightly trembling from her fear; her fear for her teammates and sensei. Irritated, Kakashi watched from his water prison as his genin were not in fact running away but they stood there with determination on their faces.

"What are you guys doing?! Get out of here, stop trying to be brave! Get the bridge builder away from here that is still your mission!" The genin turned to face the bridge builder silently asking him, _should we stay or should we go? _The bridge builder looked down; fighting his fear of dying with what is right. Looking up he said, "Well it's my fault that you're in this mess because of my own selfishness to live. Do what you have to do to save your sensei."

"Did you hear that Kakashi-sensei." Akina said with a smirk.

"Yeah you better get ready." Naruto said to Zabuza. He only lowered his head and began to laugh with dark amusement.

"You brats really haven't learned anything have you? You're still pretending to be ninja as you play your little game. When I was your age my hands were already covered in the blood of others." Shock ran through the genin, except for Akina, as they couldn't believe that he was a killer at a young age.

"Zabuza the Demon." stated Kakashi.

"Looks like I was in your book too."

"Long ago the Village Hidden in the Mist was known as the Blood Mist Village. There was one final test a student had to go through before becoming a ninja."

"So you know about the graduation exam?" Zabuza asked looking at Kakashi.

"What graduation exam?" Naruto asked as Zabuza began to laugh again.

"What's so funny? We had graduation tests too." Naruto said which only made Zabuza laugh harder.

"But you didn't have to kill your classmates to become a ninja."Akina said. The genin and Tazuna looked at her in disbelief and disgust on their faces at such a cruel act.

"Imagine having to kill the person who was your friend. Someone who had the same dreams as you, who ate and trained with you. But when the final exam comes it's either them or you." Zabuza added.

"Th-that's so cruel." Sakura said, fear causing her voice to tremble.

"But 10 years ago the graduation exams changed because the year before that a great terror entered the school. A boy who wasn't even a ninja took down over 100 students." Kakashi said.

"It felt so…GOOD." Zabuza said looking down at the terrified genin. A freezing chill crept down their spines as they looked at a true monster before them. A killing machine. Sasuke flew backwards, gasping in shock as he realized that the Zabuza clone had just kneed him in his stomach. He rolled on the ground a little bit before he stopped on his back. Zabuza appeared again elbowing Sasuke in the same spot on his stomach, causing his back to dig deeper in the ground. The pain was overwhelming for Sasuke as he could barely get any air into his lungs and his stomach felt like it was on fire. He gasped in pain as Zabuza replaced his elbow with his foot pressing Sasuke even further into the ground. Reaching for his sword Zabuza said to Sasuke, "You're nothing." As Zabuza was bringing his sword down something hard hit him in his side, pushing him off of his feet and Sasuke. In the air he regained his balance and landed on his feet as he looked to see what hit him. Akina stood there in front of Sasuke, who was regaining his breath, her eyes unreadable as she stared at him. Zabuza's anger rose, since she managed to surprise him _again_, and he used it to propel him forward to attack her. Before his sword could cut her she disappeared along with Sasuke. Zabuza stood there stunned that she could move that fast and be able to carry the boy at the same time.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Around him clones of Naruto began to appear in little puffs of smoke.

'_Hm, so he knows the shadow clone jutsu and there is quite a few of them.'_ Zabuza thought as he waited. The clones let out a battle yell as they all jumped on top of him making a big, and orange, dog pile. The clones were struggling to hold Zabuza down as Sasuke was still recovering from the attack.

"Are you ok Sasuke?" Akina asked as she helped to support him along with Sakura.

"I'm fine." He answered through gritted teeth. Regardless of the pain he stood up straight and told them they could let go of him. Akina slightly shook her head knowing that his Uchiha pride and ego were hurting. The clones were still holding up but they couldn't hold down the demon forever. With a yell Zabuza swung his sword pushing back the clones and causing them to disappear as they hit the ground. The real Naruto slid backwards as he tried to dig something out of his backpack.

"Sasuke catch!" He yelled as he threw the object to Sasuke. Sasuke looked down at the object in his hands and smirked.

'_So Naruto isn't as dumb as he looks.'_ he thought as he whipped open the weapon.

"Ninja Art: Demon Wind Shuriken!" Sasuke flipped into the air with ease and released the giant shuriken. It whirled through the air heading for the water clone.

"Stupid brats, that won't work on me!" The clone exclaimed but his eyes widened when the shuriken flew right past him.

'_What?!'_

Now realizing his mistake the real Zabuza prepared to defend himself from the incoming weapon. Using his free hand he caught the shuriken and laughed at their attempt to hurt him.

"I told you this wouldn't work." Zabuza said but he became confused when he didn't see worry or fear in their eyes. Then he saw why.

'_A shuriken hidden within the shadow of the first?'_ With both hands occupied he needed to act quickly.

"Hmph." Zabuza jumped up as the shuriken swept right under him.

'_Oh no he dodged it! How are we going to beat him now?' _Sakura thought her hope that her team could win diminished.

"How many times do I have to say that you can't touch me?" Zabuza mocked as he landed back on the water. A small poof could be heard as the second shuriken turned into Naruto, surprising everyone.

"Take this!" Naruto yelled as he threw his kunai towards Zabuza's right arm. Not willing to lose his arm Zabuza removed his right arm from the water prison but the kunai scraped his right cheek and destroyed the Zabuza water clone. With a wild look in his eyes Zabuza turned to face Naruto, who was still in the air, preparing to release the shuriken spinning in his left hand.

"I'm going to kill you." The clang of metal hitting metal could be heard followed by the splash of Naruto going into the water. A drenched Kakashi stood there, his head hanging down, using his hand guard to stop the shuriken but blood was slowly dripping down his hand. When he looked up Zabuza was staring at _**two**_ eyes instead of one. Kakashi's headband was sitting on his forehead straight revealing an eye the color of blood and had 3 comma markings around his iris. Naruto resurfaced and was happy to see that Kakashi was free.

"Naruto you came up with a brilliant plan. You have really grown." Kakashi's words brought a smile on Naruto's face as he explained his entire plan.

"Hmph stop bragging kid, you just got lucky that I got distracted." Zabuza said.

"Don't flatter yourself Zabuza. You didn't get distracted you were forced to let go. Now you can't use the same technique again because it won't work. So what are you going to do now?" Zabuza just stared at him, silent, as Kakashi stared right back at him.

"Akina. Sakura. You know what to do." Sasuke said and both of the girls nodded as they assumed the Manji Formation around Tazuna; Sasuke in front, Sakura on his left, and Akina on his right. Naruto was still in the water watching the 2 ninja as their thirst for blood filled the air. Nothing was said as Zabuza used all four shuriken blades to press down on Kakashi's hand guard. Kakashi grunted under the force as blood began to seep down his hand. He pushed back against the shuriken causing Zabuza to let go of it and it went flying into the mist. Both

shinobi jumped away from each other and Zabuza began to perform hand signs while muttering their names. Kakashi used his sharingan to analyze Zabuza's hand signs and began to copy them as well. It was as if they were each other's reflections in a mirror as they performed the same hand signs at the same speed.

'This is the power of the sharingan.' Sasuke thought as he watched on. The water surrounding the two shinobi began to ripple as they both cried out at the same time, "Tori!"

Two pillars of water rose from the lake and both took on the shape of a dragon with bright yellow eyes.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Both dragons began to entwine around each other before they both attacked the other. The force of their caused waves of water to soak the genin and bridge builder but poor Naruto was being pushed around by the strong currents.

"Hold on to something Naruto!" Akina yelled hoping Naruto could hear her over the roar of the waves and dragons. Naruto quickly looked around and saw a low branch not too far away that he could swim to. Quickly paddling over he grabbed onto the branch and began to climb on it but it was slightly difficult since his clothes and weapons were weighing him down. As the water dragons clashed above them Kakashi was holding off Zabuza's sword with a kunai, both equal in strength.

_'Something isn't right. The sharingan can comprehend and replicate the enemy's technique. But both Jutsu occurred at the same time. Can he...?'_ Zabuza thought puzzled. He pushed against Kakashi and they both jumped back as they did before to put distance Inbetween them. At the same time both ninja ran in a circle and they both stopped at exactly the same time. A chill began to creep up Zabuza's back as he lifted his left arm above him and his right arm in front of his face and Kakashi did everything he did at the same exact time.

"He's not just following him, he's moving exactly at the same time as him." The bridge builder said amazed as the genin could only watch in fascination and newfound respect for their sensei's power.

"How is he doing that?" Sakura asked aloud to one in particular.

_'My movements, he's following them as if he knows what I'm-'_

"-Going to do next." Kakashi said out loud.

_'Is he reading my mind?'_ Zabuza thought as he changed into a hand sign while Kakashi did the same thing.

_'It's that eye of his.'_

"It makes you furious doesn't it?" Kakashi asked with a mocking tone.

"All you're doing is copying me like some little monkey. You can't beat me with cheap tricks, I'll crush you." Zabuza gasped in surprise as Kakashi said the last part at the same time as he did. In anger Zabuza began to perform hand signs as he said, "You'll never open that monkey mouth again when I'm done with you." Suddenly a shadow appeared behind Kakashi and it became Zabuza.

_'What is this some kind of illusion jutsu?'_ Zabuza thought as he lost concentration giving Kakashi the time to finish the hand signs.

"Water Style: Water Vortex Jutsu!" The commas in his sharingan began to spin and it kept spinning faster.

"What this is impossible." Water surrounded Kakashi like a vortex and headed straight for Zabuza, the strong currents tossed him around like a rag doll since he couldn't do anything to stop it. Even the genin and the bridge builder backed away as to not get sucked in but Naruto was having trouble staying on his branch. Before the waves nearly took him Akina had rushed towards him and used the rope in her back pack to secure the both of them to the branch. She also covered his body with hers to keep him even more secure. The vortex had created a trail of destruction when it had finally calmed down. Zabuza coughed out water as he tried to regain his breathe while leaning against a tree. Kunai flew through the air and hit Zabuza in different places over his body as Kakashi landed on a tree branch above him in a crouch.

"You're finished."

"Yeah Kakashi-sensei you did it!" Naruto yelled right next to Akina.

"Did you really have to yell in my ear Naruto?" Akina said as she rubbed her right ear.

"Wow Kakashi-sensei was amazing! Oh but not as amazing as you Sasuke-kun." Sakura said trying to gain Sasuke's attention but all he did was grunt in response with his signature smirk on his face.

"How? Can you see into the future?" Zabuza asked looking at Kakashi.

"Yes I can. And this is going to be your last battle." Kakashi said preparing to release his final kunai that would end Zabuza's life. Kakashi watched as two senbon needles pierced Zabuza's neck. His body falling to the ground with a loud thud, unmoving. Kakashi whipped his head to his left and spotted what appeared to be a young boy based off of his build. He wore a blue kimono shirt with a light brown turtleneck underneath, light brown shorts, and he wore regular sandals on his feet. His face was covered by a mask with red swirl designs and on the forehead there were four curved lines, the symbol for the Mist Village. Akina felt a chin roll up her spine as she looked at the boy who had just taken down a monster on his own.

'_Who is this kid and where did he come from? Is he an ally or a foe.' _Akina thought as she fought the urge to ask them out loud.

"You were right it was his last battle." The boy said to Kakashi. Jumping down from his branch Kakashi landed next to Zabuza's body and checked his pulse. The genin and the bridge builder gathered near him to see if the young ninja had actually killed the mist demon that quickly. Kakashi checked his pulse and said to them, "He's dead." Naruto became furious as he clenched his hands into fists and glared at the young boy who had also jumped down from his branch and stood nearby.

"Thank you for taking Zabuza down. I have looking for him for a long time. Waiting for this moment to take him down." The young boy said to Kakashi.

"You are a tracker ninja from the Mist Village judging by your mask." Kakashi said not as a question but a fact.

"That's correct. You are well informed."

"Wait just a minute! What exactly is a tracker ninja?" Naruto shouted and moved in front of the tracker ninja.

" Oh Naruto you are so clueless. Of course you weren't there the day we learned about tracker ninjas. Tracker ninjas are ninjas that specialize in hunting down rouge ninja who have abandoned their home village. Rogue ninja carry special information in them, the secrets of his people. Tracker ninjas are specially trained to hunt down these ninja and eliminate them. That way the secrets of his people will remain a secret." Sakura explained.

"Everything you've said is correct. I am a part of my village's elite tracking unit and it was my duty to bring Zabuza down." The boy explained further.

_'Judging by his voice he must be a little bit older than these guys and he's already an assassin. He's no ordinary kid.'_ Kakashi thought.

"'Who do you think you are! Huh!" Naruto yelled pointing at the boy.

"Naruto calm down." Kakashi said lowering his head band back over his left eye.

"No sensei! How can I accept the fact that this kid, who's not that much older than us, took down someone like Zabuza with just a flick of his wrist. How does that make us look, little kids playing ninja?! I can't except this!" Naruto's speech caused silence to come over the clearing as the genin lowered their heads thinking about what Naruto had said. Kakashi sighed as he understood where Naruto's frustration was coming from. He walked over to Naruto and placed his hand on his head.

"Even if you can't accept it it did happen. Naruto there are kids in this world who are stronger than you but younger than me." The young boy walked over to Zabuza's body and wrapped his right arm over his back to carry him.

"Your fight is over now. I must deal with his remains. There are too many secrets hidden within this body that can't afford to get into the wrong hands. Goodbye." Using one hand to make a hand sign he disappeared, along with Zabuza's body in a small whirlwind of leaves. Kakashi stared at the spot the boy was as questions and doubt swirled through his mind but he had to put them aside for now to complete the mission.

"Alright everyone we still have a mission to complete so let's keep moving."

"Haha sorry for all of the mess that I've caused but don't you worry. When we get to my home you will all be my guests." Tazuna said with a big grin on his face to lighten up the mood. The genin, now in a better mood, got ready to follow their sensei but as soon as Kakashi took a few steps his body froze before his mind fell into darkness.

"Sensei!" The genin yelled as their sensei began to fall forward. Akina was there in a second as she caught his body in her arms.

_'Kakashi-sensei is heavy!'_ She thought as she gently lowered him to the ground.

"What's wrong with Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"He must have overused the sharingan too much." Sakura said kneeling next to him.

"Well we still need to get Tazuna home so let's take turns carrying him." Akina suggested. Everyone agreed and Akina and Naruto carried him, one arm over each shoulder, first.


	13. Last Minute Training?

**I have accepted the fact that I cannot keep my word about the updating of this story. So I shall no longer say when to expect it because I suck at that. If you see any mistakes or have any creative criticism/suggestions you can either write a review or PM me. So enjoy. **

**(Kakashi's POV)**

All I could see was darkness as my mind slowly started to reawaken from unconsciousness. A dull throbbing ripped through my head like a constant drum slowly getting stronger as the moments passed. It seemed the after effects of my Sharingan had affected the rest of my body as well since it was hard to move anything without the pounding getting stronger.

'_I guess this is what I get for using it for that long.'_ I thought. Slowly I tried to open my eye letting it adjust to the bright light of the room. Soon the light no longer seemed as bright and I could open right eye all of the way to see where I was. It was a plain room that had a low table to the left of the futon, which he was resting on, and from the window, on the right side of the

room, he could hear the clashing of the waves. Suddenly the door on the opposite side of the room from him opened and a young woman, appearing to be in her late 20's to early 30's, walked in. When she closed the door she jumped a little from surprise when she noticed my gaze on her.

"Oh you're awake already? Your students will be glad to hear that. My name is Tsunami, I'm Tazuna's daughter."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Kakashi Hatake. How long have I been unconscious?" I asked curious since I could tell from the amount of sunlight that some time has passed.

"Well you arrived here about 4 hours ago so I would assume around there. Your students carried you all of the way here after you passed out. Would you like to speak to your team now?" She asked with a kind smile and pleasant tone.

"Could you hold them off for about 5 minutes? My headache will just get worse from Naruto's hyperactive mouth and I can't remember the last time I had peace and quiet when he was around." My desperate tone made her laugh a little before she said, "I understand, Naruto is a little bit hyper but it does feel nice to have such an optimistic aura around here. Would you me to get you something for your headache?"

"Yes please." When she walked out of the door I let out a little sigh as the memories of the fight came to me. Something just didn't feel right about the way that it ended though. Tracker ninjas never move the body after the target is diseased to quickly retrieve any information that could be used against their home village if their enemies discovered the target first.

'_If he was truly trained correctly he never would have carried Zabuza's body away for any reason. Not only that but Zabuza's body was much larger than his own which can only mean that the boy is Zabuza's accomplice, trying to help him escape. This is probably the scam that they play to get him out of any danger he can't handle. If this is the case then he will show himself again to finish off Tazuna soon. But he will need some time to recover before that happens. These kids are going to need an extra boost in training if they're going to survive the second assault at all. This will probably be the best time to teach them –'_ My thoughts were immediately cut off when the loud **SLAM** of the door hitting the wall caused my headache to increase tenfold.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei! You're finally awake!"

"Shut up Naruto! He just woke up so try not to kill his eardrums would ya!" Sakura shouted as she punched the back of Naruto's head. Her shouting just made me want to drift back into unconsciousness to avoid their bickering.

"Sorry sensei." Naruto mumbled trembling in fear of Sakura's wrath. They all took a seat on the floor around my futon; Sakura and Naruto on the left as Sasuke and Akina silently took a seat on my right. Tazuna and Tsunami walked in as well and took a seat as well at the end of the futon; Tsunami joined her father after she placed a glass of water and two pills on the little table for me.

"So how do you feel Kakashi-sensei?" Akina asked. I sighed as my headache subsided for the time being.

"I should be fine with a few days of rest; it's nothing to worry about." I tried to sound optimistic to ease any of their worries but even I could hear the slight exhaustion in my voice.

"Kakashi-sensei even though the Sharingan is cool and everything maybe you shouldn't use it this much. Especially when it takes up so much of your chakra and it leaves you like this." Concern shone through Sakura's teal eyes as she said this. With what energy I could muster I slowly sat up to look at everyone more clearly.

"Don't worry about me I have been in worse condition before but right now we have more important matters to discuss."

"What could be so important now? We just beat Zabuza so now all we have to do is protect the old man and then go home. Right?" Naruto said with total confusion and annoyance.

"What's important is that the fight isn't over just yet. Zabuza is still alive."

* * *

**(Akina's POV)**

'_Not what I was expecting to hear.'_ I thought rubbing my eyes a little bit.

"What are you talking about you practically demolished that guy? There's no way he could still be alive after that." Tazuna said in total disbelief.

"You said so yourself that his heart stopped. How could he be alive?" Sasuke said, actually engaging in the conversation.

"Well let's think about what happened. What kind of weapons did the tracker use to take down Zabuza?" Kakashi asked.

"He used Senbon also called throwing needles. Which means that the boy was helping Zabuza to get away." I said understanding what Kakashi was trying to get us to see.

"Very observant Akina. Senbon are rarely fatal, they can only kill someone when they hit a vital point. Nothing in the neck is a vital point. Not only that he carried Zabuza's body away, which is much heavier than his own, when he should have started working on the body immediately as trackers are supposed to do."

"But sensei he still had no heartbeat so how could he still be alive?" Sakura asked still confused.

"Tracker ninja are specially trained to know every detail about the human body. To put someone in a temporary death state, while keeping the organs functional, would be an easy matter for them."

"So what are you going to do now that he's still alive and will come after me again?" Tazuna asked, a small hint of fear in his eyes.

"We must prepare quickly since he will only need a little bit of time to let his body recover from being in a death state."

"What do you mean by prepare? You're not exactly in the best of shape to do anything sensei." I asked with genuine concern for his well being. Even I could see that sitting up had required the little energy that he has at the moment and it was clear that his muscles were tense from using his Sharingan. He let out a small amused laugh before he answered, "I can still train you even in this state."

"Now wait just a minute! How is a little bit of last minute training going to help us against Zabuza when you could barely beat him the first time even with your Sharingan? We have to think this through first." Sakura freaked out.

"Sakura, why was I able to beat Zabuza? Because you all helped me, you've grown. Especially you Naruto, you've grown the most." Naruto was shocked at Kakashi's words before his signature grin appeared on his face.

"So you've finally noticed sensei! Don't worry things will continue to get better, believe it!"

"No I don't believe it!" Everyone turned their heads to look at the source of the exclamation. At the door stood a boy who appeared to be 10 years old; wearing a white hat with 2 navy blue stripes, a faded yellow t-shirt, and a green overall. His expression was blank but I could in his eyes a tortured sad look, a look I haven't seen since I was 5 years old.

'_He must have lost someone as well, someone very close.'_ I thought as I watched the boy run into Tazuna's arms, welcoming him home.

"Inari that was very disrespectful of you. These ninja helped your grandfather get back here safely so act like you have some manners." Tsunami said with her hands on her hips.

"Oh don't worry about it I'm rude to them too." Tazuna said as he hugged Inari. Inari wasn't looking at her though as his eyes passed over us, as if he was judging our capabilities.

"But mom don't you see these people are going to die! Gato and his men will come back and kill them all. Don't you get it?" A furious Naruto stood up and pointed to Inari as he yelled out.

"Hey listen here you disrespectful brat! I am a super ninja and one day I'm gonna become Hokage. This Blato or whatever is no match for me, I'm a true hero!" Inari just stared at him and said, "There is no such thing as a hero. You're just full of dumb ideas." Before Naruto could go over there to strangle him Sakura grabbed from behind in a headlock and held him there, yelling at him to calm down. Looking at Inari again as he was walking out I could see that a deep anger had taken place in his eyes, something that appeared when Naruto had called himself a hero.

"You guys should just go back to where you come from, you'll only make things worse." With that he walked out of the room despite Tazuna calling for him to come back. Tsunami turned to us all and apologized for Inari's behavior. Looking at Kakashi I quickly noticed that the two pills were gone and the glass of water was completely empty.

'_How the hell did he do that without any of us noticing? I still want to see his face._' Knowing that will have to wait as I asked Kakashi the most important question at the moment.

"So sensei, when you say prepare for the next battle how are we going to do that?" At that moment everyone turned to look at Kakashi; curious to know the next lesson as well. He just gave us that closed-eye chuckle and gave me an answer I wasn't expecting.

"We are going to go climb some trees."

* * *

**In the nearby forest….**

"Alright are you all ready to begin? First we need to review chakra, the most basic tool for a ninja. If you can completely understand chakra then you be able master all kinds of jutsu." All of us were standing in a small clearing completely surrounded by tall thick trees. Kakashi still hasn't told us about what the training exercise is until we had reached the forest. My teammates were waiting for Kakashi to explain as he situated himself, along with is crutches, to stand right in front of us.

"Yeah yeah we already learned all about –uh catra back at the academy so why do we have to review it?" Naruto said making all of us sigh at the fact he can't even say chakra right.

"First of all Naruto it's pronounced chakra. Sakura will explain the rest for you." Kakashi said with slight annoyance.

"Alright Naruto I'm going to explain it to you in the best way possible for you to understand. Chakra is the elemental life energy a ninja uses for jutsu, it's the source of all of their power. This energy has two forms; spiritual and physical. Physical energy lies within all of the cells in the body working together whereas spiritual energy is primal power gained through intensive training and experience. In order to perform jutsu both types of energy must be used in equal amounts or else the jutsu won't perform correctly. Finally, hand signs are used to draw these powers together to perform the jutsu."

"She is correct on every point, it seems that Iruka sensei had some excellent students." Kakashi said impressed.

"But what's with these long complicated explanations? The whole point is to perform the jutsu right so who cares about this stuff." Naruto yelled out in frustration. What was surprising though for all of us was when Sasuke spoke up.

"Naruto is actually right about something for once, we're already using chakra in our jutsu."

"No! You haven't even scratched the surface of this power, you've only been guessing and it's been working fine for right now. For each jutsu there certain proportions of the two types of energy that must be used to make the jutsu successful. Even if you have a lot of chakra, if you can't control it then the jutsu won't work at all or it may be a dud. You waste a lot of chakra this way and soon you'll just be a sitting target with no chakra."

"So how do we avoid that?" Naruto asked, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Act as if you're life is on the line which will make you train so hard that controlling chakra becomes second nature." There was dead silence after his statement, thinking of how hard it will be to master chakra control.

"So how is climbing trees going to help us with our chakra control." Sakura softly spoke up.

"You have to climb with no hands."

"How can someone climb a tree without any hands? That's impossible." Naruto said.

"Just watch." Using the sheep hand sign we watched as a small layer of dust brushed away from his feet. He walked towards the closest tree and when he was right in front of it he placed one foot on the trunk and began to actually walk up the tree. Even with his crutches. He picked one of the lower branches to stop at and was actually standing upside down.

"Wow that's amazing." Sakura exclaimed.

"And he's not even using his hands at all." Naruto said in awe.

"Well you guys get the idea. You must focus your chakra to the soles of your feet in order to stick to the tree."

"So how is this going to help us fight Zabuza when we see him again?" I asked since I was very curious as to what we'll actually gain from it.

"This will be the key advantage to fighting Zabuza, which is the whole point of this training. First you will learn to draw a precise amount of chakra to a precise point of the body. Something even advanced ninja struggle with. This climbing requires that you use a mix of both spiritual and physical energy. And the feet are the most complicated place to concentrate chakra. Is any of this starting to make sense now? Master this training and soon you can master just about any jutsu there is. The second point of this training is that you learn how to maintain your chakra. In battle a ninja must always have control over his chakra and learn how to maintain it or else the consequences are deadly. Now instead of talking about this all day it's about time you apply this in order to truly learn it." Pulling 4 kunais out of his vest Kakashi threw one in front of each one of us.

"What are these for sensei?" Naruto asked.

"You're going to use these to mark your highest point on the tree and then try to surpass that mark each time. When you start run at the tree to gain momentum so that you can make it to your highest point until you can get used to it. If you have any more questions save them for later."

"Don't worry sensei I'll finish this in no time. Like you said I'm the one who's grown the most." Naruto said as he grabbed his kunai, his signature grin on his face. The rest of us did the same as we prepared to start the training.

"Well you are certainly the one who talks the most now get focused and do it." Naruto mumbled something under his breath as we performed the sheep hand sign and summoned chakra to our feet. I could feel the chakra building up in feet by the slight tingly feeling.

_'GO!'_ I thought as I ran towards a tree. When my foot made contact with the tree it felt like we were two magnets being attracted to each other. I felt this even as I went farther up the tree and I almost lost focus when I heard Naruto's moan of pain not even 5 seconds after I started.

_'I guess he didn't make it too far.'_ A few seconds later my foot slipped because I couldn't maintain my chakra much longer so I quickly marked the spot and grabbed on to a nearby branch. Once I was situated on the branch I turned to look down and saw that I was pretty far up the tree, I was at its halfway point from the looks of it. A few trees to my left I saw Naruto rolling in the grass while holding on to his head. To my right I saw that Sasuke had made it about a fourth of the way up. From the crushed tree bark I could see that he had used too much chakra.

"Hey this is a lot of fun!" Shouted an excited Sakura. I didn't notice that she picked the tree next to mine and we were at the same height basically.

"Well well it seems like the female members of the squad have the most advance chakra control. Well done Sakura and Akina."

"Yeah! Way to go Akina and you too Sakura!" Naruto shouted with excitement.

"Tch whatever." Sasuke said broodingly. I watched as Sakura's confidence was ripped away from her by those two words, her head now hung low and she just muttered Sasuke's name with a tone of despair. I got slightly angry because she is letting him bring her down when she should be happy by her success. I moved closer to her since our branches were right next to each other and sat down so that no one would hear us very well.

"Hey Sakura. Don't be ashamed of your success just because someone is not at the same level as you. So be proud at the fact that your chakra control is more advanced than Sasuke's instead of hating it. Besides, as females it should be expected that we have more control than the boys. Since girls our age are usually more mature than boys." She picked up her head and started to laugh a little bit, her depressing demeanor immediately gone.

"Well I do have to say that you're right about that. Thank you Akina. It's just that I want him to notice my skills so that maybe one day he would actually want to be around me voluntarily. Since we're forced to be on the same team." I couldn't help but let a sigh come out.

"Sakura even though I haven't known you guys very long I can-" I immediately stopped what I was saying to turn around and see Kakashi standing there leaning on his crutches.

"Gossip hour is over you two. Even though Your chakra control is pretty advanced you still have some training to do. Both of you need to work on maintaining that control so that you won't end up like Naruto or Sasuke. So get started." He suddenly poofed away and I saw him appear at the ground level, in the same white smoke, now watching how the boys were progressing. Or in Naruto's case landing on his head again.

"Well thank you again Akina for giving me that boost of confidence. You're a really nice person." Sakura said as she got up and jumped back down on the ground. I smiled at her compliment and got up to join her on the ground. All of us now focusing on our individual progress.

* * *

**2 hours later….**

All of us were panting after 2 straight hours of running at our trees. I was a few feet from the top of my tree trying to catch my breath, leaning against the trunk of the tree.

_'My calves are going to kill me tomorrow.'_ I thought as I watched the sun lower into the earth casting an arrangement of reds, blues, and some purple into the sky. A breeze blew by rustling the leaves of the forest almost as if they were dancing. The cool wind felt good on my sweaty skin.

"Alright everyone it's time to go. You all did pretty well for your first day of training although some of you still need some work." Kakashi's voice rang out through the clearing so that everyone could hear him. I began my descent down from the tree to join the others who had been resting on the ground instead. It was mostly a quiet walk back to Tazuna's house except for Naruto chatting with Sakura about something I couldn't hear.

"Hey." I didn't notice that Sasuke had started walking next to me with his usual stance; both of his hands in his pockets and his eyes closed.

"What's up?" I asked very curious as to why he was actually speaking to me.

"Well I was just wandering. How do you do this exercise so well?" His cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as he asked this and it took me a few seconds to answer because I am surprised he is asking for help.

"Well first things first you need to stop forcing your chakra so much or else you'll just keep smashing your tree. You need to let the chakra flow through you naturally. For me I like to empty my mind and only focus on my feet and the tree. That's the best way for me to explain it." He seemed to be deep in thought before he spoke.

"Thanks." It may not have been a lot of words but I know that he had let go of his pride to ask me so I accepted it.

"Akina and Sakura. Since you both made it to the top you will follow Tazuna tomorrow and guard him. While Sasuke and Naruto will continue their training." Kakashi had stopped to look at us as we made it to Tazuna's house. Naruto started to complain about how he wanted to guard Tazuna instead of training as we all walked in the house. Tsunami was in the kitchen preparing something when we walked in, Inari and Tazuna were sitting at the table talking to each other.

"Well looked at what the cat dragged in." Tazuna said noticing our slightly dirty clothes and tired expressions.

"Hello everyone how did your training go?" Tsunami asked as she turned her attention from the stove to us.

"They did fine for their first time." Kakashi answered as we all joined Inari and Tazuna at the table. The table could sit eight people; three chairs on both sides and one chair on each end. Tazuna occupied one end chair and Inari was sitting to his right. Naruto and I sat in the two remaining chairs on Inari's side as Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi sat on the other side. Leaving the remaining end chair for Tsunami.

"That's good, well dinner should be done in a few minutes." We were all silent as the day's events began to catch up on us. Then an important thought popped in my head.

"Hey sensei."

"Yes." He said as he looked at me with his one eye.

"What are the sleeping arrangements while we're here?" Immediately all chaos broke loose due to Naruto suggesting it should be girl with boy, followed by Sakura beating him to a bloody pulp for even thinking about it.

_'Oops.'_


	14. Who are you?

**OMG I actually got another chapter out in less than a month! I think this might be my fastest work but I'm not that sure. As always I accept ****criticism and/or suggestions. Please enjoy.**

* * *

The sun shone with all of its warm glory in the sky as the sea breeze washed over my skin, the dampness cooling and refreshing compared to the sun's rays. The surrounding water glittered like tiny diamonds only disturbed by the rolling of the waves. The clinking of metal hitting metal occupied most of the noises on the bridge as the men worked diligently, with sweat glistening on their bodies, to finish it. Within a few days it will be complete and the island can finally be free from Gato's reign. I was sitting against the railing across from Sakura as I watched the men work and kept an eye out for any sign of danger. So far the day has been going pretty smoothly but Gato could always send someone instead of Zabuza and the boy to finish the job so Sakura and I have to be on our toes. Although Sakura seemed to be worn out from yesterday as she yawned while stretching her arms. Tazuna walked by at that moment as he carried a piece of metal on his shoulder.

"Are you guys always this lazy? What happened to the crazy blond kid and the boy with the attitude?" he asked.

"They're still training, climbing trees." Sakura answered.

"Is it too tough for you guys?"

"No actually we're the best at it so the sensei sent us here to guard you." Sakura said with pride.

"You're joking right? Well at least he sent her here." Tazuna said while looking at me and then he continued what he was doing.

'_That's a little harsh.' _ I thought as I watched Sakura try not to blow up at him. A man, one of the workers, was walking towards Tazuna as he was putting down the piece of metal he had carried.

"Hey Tazuna I need to talk to you."

"About what?" Tazuna said as he used a towel to wipe the sweat off of his face.

"The thing is that I have put a lot of thought into the bridge and I've decided I've pushed my luck to the limit. I want out."

"What! You're going to quit on me now, when we're almost finished. You've got to be joking."

"Look Tazuna I stayed on because of our friendship but I'm risking my life everyday that I'm on this bridge. Sooner or later Gato and his thugs will show up and kill us and then the bridge will never get done. So why don't we stop now instead of throwing our lives away." Tazuna didn't speak right away but when he did there was the fire of determination in his eyes.

"No. Our island is poor and it will stay that way until this bridge is completed. Once this bridge connects us to the main land we will regain trade and commerce. And our hope, that's why I won't stop until it is finished."

"What hope will there be if we're all dead?" Tazuna was finished listening to him though as he started to walk past him.

"It's noon so lets break for lunch. But Giichi don't bother coming back after lunch."

"Tazuna please lets not end it like this." Tazuna paid no heed to him as he told the workers to take a break for lunch.

'_Kami please help these people.'_

**A few hours later…**

Once work had been finished for that day Sakura and I followed Tazuna in town to get a few ingredients for dinner. As we walked through the town there were so many people who were living on the streets from young children to adults who had signs that said, _'__**Will do any kind of work**__.' _The whole atmosphere of this town is depressing. It was nothing like the Leaf Village, which was always filled with laughter and a cheerful atmosphere.

"These poor people." Sakura whispered.

"This is how it's been since Gato arrived and the children are the ones suffering the most. All of the adults have lost their hope, which is why we must finish the bridge. That bridge will be the symbol that will restore the spirit of our people, it will bring trade and commerce, and most importantly it will bring back hope to these people. I won't let Gato stop us."

None of us talked the rest of the way as we finally made it to the market. If you can even call this place a market, it's pitiful. There was hardly enough food on the shelves to feed one family let alone the whole town.

'_How are these people still alive.' _I thought as Sakura and I waited for Tazuna to pay for the food. Two guys entered the market behind us but I didn't pay them heed, since I could tell that they weren't a threat to anyone based on their age and they are too skinny to have any muscles. Even so I had my backpack with me, because I had wanted to carry my sketchbook with me to the bridge, so I held my bag a little bit closer. But they never attempted to go for my bag instead there was a hand on my ass.

'_He's dead.' _ I thought as I whipped around and punched the guy in the face. He landed outside of the market completely knocked out. A second later the second guy flew out of the market, also knocked out, as Sakura had kicked him in the face while yelling, "PERVERT!" The second man landed on top of the first one, some people outside of the market jumped in shock when they suddenly appeared in the road.

"You have a nice kick there Sakura." I said with a smirk on my face.

"You have a heck of a right hook." She said as she calmed down a little. Holding my hand up she looked at it at first and with a smile on her face we high-fived each other. Tazuna and the store owner were just standing there shocked, not believing that two teenage girls just knocked out two grown men with one hit. Walking over to us Taznua said, "Well now I know never to doubt you guys again." With that we walked out of the store, while _accidentally _stepping on the guys, and escorted Tazuna back home safely.

* * *

By the time Sakura, Tazuna, and I made it back the boys were already in the dining area of the kitchen resting after their long day of training. Tsunami prepared dinner for us as Naruto chatted to me about his improving progress and Sakura was trying to start a conversation with Sasuke. Kakashi was sitting across from me reading his little perverted book, as always. As time passed the room was being filled with the smell of delicious food and when it was finished we all dug into it, especially the boys for some reason.

"It has been such a long time since we've had company like this." Tazuna said with a big smile on his face. I noticed that Inari hasn't really said anything since we came back home, he's just been sitting there silently as if something was disturbing him. I couldn't really be sure since his hat was covering most of his face.

'_I wonder why he is so sad all of the time?' _I thought. I was about to ask him a question when both Naruto and Sasuke both yelled out.

"I want some more!" Both of them glared at the other with determination in their eyes. Suddenly their faces turned a green shade and they threw up their dinners on the kitchen floor. Since I was sitting next to Naruto I got to see and smell it all which made me push my bowl away from me, upset that I had lost my appetite.

"You guys are disgusting. If you're just going to throw it up then don't bother eating it." Sakura said as she pushed her own bowl away.

"I have to eat more." Sasuke said, still glaring at Naruto.

"And I have to eat even more than him so that I can beat him." Naruto said as he was still glaring at Sasuke too.

"That's true but throwing up your food is unhealthy so I don't recommend it." Kakashi said who was completely done his dinner.

'_How does he do that?' _I thought as I gave Naruto a napkin to wipe his mouth.

Once everyone was done eating, and the boys didn't have any more accidents, I helped Tsunami bring the dishes to the sink so that she wasn't stuck with all of the work.

"Thank you for your help Akina, you can sit back down with your friends now." She said as she put the last dishes in the sink.

"Are you sure? I don't mind helping you clean up so that you're not stuck with all of the work."

"That's very considerate of you Akina but don't worry about me I'm used to it. So go ahead and sit back down." Seeing that she wasn't going to give in I went back to my seat next to Naruto. When I sat down though I noticed that Sakura wasn't at the table anymore, she was now in the kitchen staring at an old photograph which had a large chunk of the top right corner torn off. She must have wondered over there when I was helping Tsunami with the dishes.

"Hey Tazuna, why is this picture torn? It looks like someone was standing there before. Inari you've been staring at it all through dinner. Is there some reason for that?" The cheerful atmosphere was dropped immediately and was replaced with an awkward tension. Tazuna's face revealed sadness making the lines on his face deepen, his age really starting to show, and I couldn't really tell what Tsunami's expression was since she was focused solely on the dishes.

"That's my husband." Tsunami answered, her voice was so void of emotion compared to her usual cheerful voice.

"They used to call him a hero in this land." Tazuna said staring only at the table. Without a word Inari got up from his chair and walked out of the house, ignoring his mother's plea.

"Inari wait, where are you going? Father I told you not too talk about him like that in front of Inari, you know that!" Tsunami followed Inari out of the house. The silence that followed the door closing was deafening until Sakura spoke up.

"What happened to Inari? He's so…distant."

"Is there a story behind this?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"The man wasn't Inari's real father but you wouldn't have ever known that when you saw them together for the first time. Even so Inari looked up to him as his real father and in those days Inari would laugh and smile all of the time. But then that all ended on that cursed day, the day that caused Inari's laughter and smiles to end. The day that stole the meaning of courage from this land, and Inari was the one who suffered the most." Tazuna took a minute of silence to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"What happened to Inari?" Sakura asked.

"Everything begins with the man Inari called father, his name was Kaiza. He was a simple fisherman who came here from another country to follow his dreams. Inari first met him when a few of the local boys pushed him into the water to save his dog Pooch. Neither Inari nor Pooch could swim before that day but miraculously Pooch learned to doggy paddle at that exact moment. Inari was still in the water drowning when Kaiza pulled him out and even talked to the boys who had pushed Inari in. From that day on Inari began to follow in Kaiza's footsteps since Inari had never had a real father before. Their relationship grew to be like a real father and son, even though they had no blood relations to each other. Kaiza came around here more and more as time went on that he naturally became a part of this family. One day when a storm nearly wiped out this town Kaiza became much more, he became what this town needed. A hero. The storm was much worse than we thought it would be and when we tried to close the floodgate the water was already rushing in. The only way to close it was to actually have someone swim out there to tie a line but the current was so strong and everyone was afraid that no one would make it across. Kaiza was the only one who was brave enough to actually attempt even though everyone pleaded with him that he shouldn't do it, that it was a suicide mission. Kaiza believed that if you cared about something then protect it with both arms even if you have to put your life on the line never give up. He loved Inari and this land so he jumped in the water and was actually able to hold up against the current. They were able to close the floodgate and Kaiza was known as a hero throughout this land. He taught us all the true meaning of courage and Inari was so proud to be his son. But it wasn't long after that Gato and his men barged in here and terrorized this whole town into submission. Kaiza was the only one who would stand up to Gato. Gato had to use his whole gang just to take down one man since he didn't want a local hero to stand in his way. They tortured him to try to get him to submit but he never did, even when they smashed both of his arms making them completely useless. One day he hung Kaiza up on a pole in front of the whole town like some sort of public display. He was practically on the brink of death but he still had that fire in his eyes despite his wounded body. Inari was there as well as Gato made the whole town watch his men execute Kaiza right then and there, his punishment for his defiance. Since then Inari changed along with Tsunami and the whole town, we lost our will to fight." No one said anything as we all thought about the how much these people need us. Suddenly Naruto got up to run towards the door but he fell on his second step.

"Naruto what are you trying to do?" Sakura asked.

"You need to let your body rest Naruto, you've used a lot of your chakra today so just take it easy." Kakashi said as we watched Naruto struggle to get up.

"I'm going to prove it." He said, even his voice was slightly shaking.

"Prove what?" I asked, even though I can already guess what he is going to say.

"I'm going to prove to Inari that in this world there is such a thing as heroes."

* * *

**(No one's POV)**

The night was calm and silent, only disturbed by the wind rustling through the trees. The moon was full proud as it gave the earth its soft glow. Even the young ninja resting inside were sleeping soundly in their beds, their bodies exhausted from their constant training. All of the four genin shared the same room, since it was the only one available, and the girls had the right side while the boys tried to share the left. The sight of Naruto and Sasuke sleeping in the same bed would bring a smile to anyone's face and have them laughing for days about it. Sasuke was pressed all of the way against the wall to avoid Naruto's stretched out limbs. Of course Naruto of course had no idea that he was doing it as he snored, rather loudly, into his pillow. It was a good thing he was a hard sleeper or else he would have noticed that Sasuke had stolen his pillow to try to cancel out said snoring. In the other bed Sakura had enough space to spread her body and only her light breathing made any noise. Sakura rolled over and placed her hand on the spot where Akina would have been sleeping if she were there.

**In the forest…**

Not far from the spot where they first began their tree climbing exercise Akina panted slightly, tired from her training. All around her many of the trees had large dents in them and some had pieces lying on the ground. For the past two hours she had been working on concentrating chakra in her fists just as she had done in their first encounter with Zabuza when she saved both Naruto and Sasuke. It was hard first to try to maintain the chakra in her hands but as she let the energy flow through her it became much easier. She tried to switch the concentration between her feet and her fists as she attacked the trees and found that to be the most difficult part. Akina decided to sit down, when she felt that her legs would no longer support her, against a tree letting the cool breeze cool the sweat on her body. She only wore a pair of her favorite loose black shorts, a black sports bra and a navy blue tank top. The forest at twilight was her favorite time of the day because the world was so quiet yet that was when one could really hear the sounds of nature. Right now she could hear the rustling of the animals as the nocturnal creatures awakened from their den, the chirping of the crickets as they hopped about, and the occasional hoot of an owl. Also the smell of the trees mixed with the smell of the damp grass beneath her was something she never got tired of. Suddenly she got that feeling of being watched, a slight tingle ran up her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck were rising up. Still staying calm she let out a little bit of her chakra into the surrounding area.

'_There!'_ Without hesitation she whipped out a kunai, that she always carried in her shorts pocket, and threw it at the location where she had found another chakra signature. She heard the sound of a thud and the rustling of the tree branches. In a moment she jumped into the tree branches of the tree behind her, beginning the chase. They ran for a little, the person going different directions to try to throw her off, but they soon stopped in one of the bushes that were huddled against some of the trees. Without a sound and her chakra completely suppressed Akina landed on a low branch right above them. A cloud passed overhead and completely blocked the light of the moon, her perfect chance to strike. She pulled another kunai from her shorts and jumped on the person's back. The person didn't know what was happening until they were lying flat on their back and Akina had her kunai pressed against their throat. The cloud passed over the moon, taking away the darkness and revealing to Akina who was watching her.

"Sasuke?" Akina was completely shocked to see that it was Sasuke who she had chased.

"Yes it's me, can you get off of me now?" Sasuke was flabbergasted at the fact of how easily she had taken him down. Not only that but he was sure that she couldn't keep up with him and he thought he had lost her when he couldn't feel her chakra any more. Akina released the kunai from his neck and allowed him to get up himself, since she could tell that she wounded his Uchiha pride.

"So what are you doing out here?" Akina asked as she began to walk back to where she threw her kunai at him.

"I could ask you the same thing since it is 2 o'clock in the morning." He said as he followed not far behind her.

"I was training. Now what are _you_ doing out here at 2 o'clock in the morning Sasuke?" Akina stopped in front of the tree where she had first sensed Sasuke and pulled her kunai out of the trunk of the tree.

"Even when Naruto is asleep he makes so much noise with his snoring and he moves way too much." A small laugh came from Akina as she remembered looking at the boys' bed before she had sneaked out to train. She turned to go towards the house when she noticed that Sasuke had stopped walking with her. He was standing in the small clearing where she had trained in, observing all of the damage to the trees. Akina looked into his eyes and she thought that she saw a hint of jealousy in them.

"Is something wrong Sasuke?" She asked as she leaned against one of the damaged trees. He didn't answer her for a few moments, he just stared at all of the trees.

"No it's nothing." It was an obvious lie but Akina decided not to ask. Waiting for him to ask her questions if he wanted them to be answered. The walk back was pretty quiet, as Sasuke had focused all of his thoughts on what he saw. While occasionally stealing glances at her form; her flushed face, some sweat on her brow, and her hands were scuffed up as if she had been punching something hard.

'_Based on the damage to the trees she wasn't working on the tree climbing exercise but then what was she doing? The damage to those trees points out that she had used an attack but what kind? Was it taijutsu or ninjutsu? Is that why her hands look like that? How strong is she because I'm pretty sure none of us have seen much of it since she arrived at the village. Is it something she learned from the Mist Village?' _

"Spar with me. Right now." Akina was shocked at his words, completely stopping in place, but his eyes showed that he was completely serious. They were already at the edge of the forest and soon they would be walking on the dock towards Tazuna's house.

"It's late Sasuke lets just go back." Akina said as she continued to walk away but Sasuke appeared before her, blocking her path.

"No. I wanna see what you've learned by being in the Hidden Mist Village because none of us really know what you're capable of. It seems that you know a lot more than you lead on." Akina was silent for a moment as she tried to understand where this sudden reaction came from.

'_But then again they haven't seen what I can really do. And Sasuke must be frustrated because he feels as though what he has learned up to this point has been insignificant in terms of the recent events.' _Akina thought as she also tried to figure out how to avoid sparing with Sasuke.

"It's not that I know more than you guys it's just that when you grow up in the Mist Village you had to learn things fast in order to survive. Even though time has changed since Zabuza went to the academy the whole demeanor of it hasn't. It's a kill or be killed world so you have to be ready to be the killer instead of the prey. Which is why I train so hard and I can comprehend things faster than you guys, it's a tough world with strong opponents. And I want to be ready to defend the people I care about against any who wish to cause them harm. Now if you don't mind I am tired and I'm going to go to bed." Without another word or glance Akina walked right past Sasuke and headed towards the house. Sasuke let her walk away as he thought about what she said and something else he had noticed. As she had been talking her violet eyes took on this hard expression as if she was guarding something but there was a smaller one there hiding behind that tough demeanor.

The small expression he saw in her eyes was sadness.

Looking back towards the house he saw no one there, only the clashing of the waves greeted him along with the somber light of the moon.

'_Who are you Akina Yukito?'_

* * *

**Sorry if it seems short or if there were mistakes. I'm still not sure about the ending, that was the part that put me in a writer's block for a day or two. But I'm a little happy that Sasuke and Akina had a small bonding moment. Do not worry there will not be friend-turned-love relationship between them. That's a little cliche in my mind, sorry if that offends anyone.**


	15. Raging Tempers

**I know that you're all probably mad at me for not updating sooner but being a college ****freshman is not an easy job. Also thank you to all of the new readers who have favorited/followed this story. If nothing makes sense please let me know and I will fix it as soon as I can.**

* * *

**2 days later….**

**(Akina's POV)**

"Good morning everyone." Sakura yawned out as she made her way into the kitchen towards the dining table.

"Good morning." I answered in reply as she sat down across from me. Sasuke, Inari, and Tazuna were already sitting at the table eating their breakfast while Kakashi was sitting on the floor between the kitchen and the living room, staring off into space.

"Here you go." Tsunami said as she brought Sakura her breakfast.

"It looks like Naruto was out all night again." Tazuna said since Naruto hadn't come back again from his training last night.

"He's become completely obsessed with his training that he's climbing trees in the dark. He could be dead by now from using too much of his chakra." Sakura said nonchalant.

"I hope he's ok. A child shouldn't be spending the night in the woods alone." Tsunami said with a worried tone as she served Sakura her breakfast.

"There is nothing to worry about, Naruto may be a goofball sometimes but he is a full fledged ninja. He can handle himself." Kakashi answered.

"Sakura is right. Naruto is such a loser he's probably lying dead somewhere." Sasuke joined in as well.

"You guys have no faith in him." I said as I stood up.

"Akina where are you going? We just started eating." Sakura asked as I opened the door.

"Going to get Naruto so he can eat something." That was the last thing I said before I closed the door.

'_I'll head to the clearing first to see if he's there and if he's not then I'll search the surrounding area.' _I thought as I walked on the dock towards the forest. I kept thinking about what Sakura and Sasuke said about Naruto being dead and the way they acted, as if they didn't really care if he actually died. Is this how other people in his village think? Just because he has a demon trapped inside of him. I didn't realize that I had already been walking into forest until I heard a twig snap. Completely stopping I searched with my chakra to see if I was being followed.

"Come out Sasuke." A few trees behind me the Uchiha walked out and stood there as if he did nothing wrong.

"I'm starting to think that you're becoming a stalker Sasuke." I said to tease him for being caught again.

"Hn. Why would I want to stalk you? I was only going on a walk." Sasuke said with a snappy attitude but the slight blush to his cheeks betrayed him.

"Well since it seems we're going in the same direction would you like to join me?" I asked with my arms crossed. He seemed to think about it for a second before his legs moved for him and we both walked together. Our walk was silent but it wasn't awkward. The life of the forest filled most of the silence

"What were you doing the night I found you?" I couldn't answer for a second from the shock of Sasuke initiating conversation.

"I was training to better control my chakra." I didn't want to go into full detail into because the years in the Mist Village taught me to not reveal anything to anyone because they could use it against you. Even though I knew Sasuke was nothing like that it was hard to break the habit. I could tell this ticked him off a little bit.

"Ok what kind of training though? I could from the damage to the trees that you couldn't have been doing the tree climbing exercise." I sighed as I had an internal debate of whether or not I should tell him.

"I'll show tonight if you'd like." I saw a slight bit of surprise in his face but I could see that he desperately wanted to know, even though he had to wait a little bit longer.

"Fine." With that settled we continued toward the clearing we train in. As we were almost there a young boy was walking towards us with a basket of herbs in his hands. I almost mistook him for a girl because he had such a feminine beauty. Also he was wearing a pink kimono with a red trim and a white sash around his waist. He also had long hair that shined in the morning light. It was mostly his eyes though that made me believe he was a boy, I don't what it was that made me think it but they just did. No words were exchanged between us when we walked by each other. As Sasuke and I kept walking I turned my head to look behind us and saw the boy still walking. Something was telling me that the boy looked back at us as well.

"What's wrong?" I turned to look at Sasuke and noticed that we had stopped walking, or at least I did and didn't even notice. I wasn't sure if I should say something since all I had was a feeling to go off of.

"It's nothing, I thought I saw him before at the markets." I lied. I think Sasuke knew I was lying by his hard stare but decided to say nothing about since we were at the clearing. We found Naruto sitting indian style and mumbling to himself about _'…boys looking like girls…' _and _'…one of the weirdest things in my life…'_ Sasuke walked up to him and punched him on the head to get his attention.

"Ow! Hey what was that for Sasuke?!" Naruto yelled out.

"We're here to get you for breakfast before you miss it." I said completely catching Naruto's attention.

"Great 'cause I'm starving!" He jumped right up from the ground but immediately fell from his lack of energy.

"Um can I get some help please?" I grabbed his right arm and put it over my shoulder as Sasuke grabbed his other arm with a sigh of annoyance, while muttering, "Dobe."

"Sasuke!"

* * *

**Later that night after dinner…**

**(No One's POV)**

The kitchen was ablaze with the atmosphere of people talking together with smiles and stomachs well fed. Akina was helping to bring the dishes to the sink as Tsunami washed and Sakura dried them off. Kakashi and Tazuna was sitting at the table talking about the progress of the bridge and surprisingly Naruto was laying his head down on his hands, exhausted from completing the tree climbing exercise. Sasuke was being his usual quiet self with his head resting on his hands, leaning his elbows on the table. Inari was quiet as well but something seemed to be on his mind.

"In just a few days the bridge will finally be completed and I have all of you to thank. But have to ask why did you all stay when you found out that I lied to bring you here?" Tazuna asked Kakashi, which caught everyone's attention.

"Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage. But under the wing of a strong leader cowardice cannot survive. That was a quote from the first Hokage." Kakashi answered.

"But why?" We all looked to Inari who had his hat covering his face but they could see his body shaking.

"What did you just say?" Naruto said almost getting out of his chair. Inari slammed his hands on the table and quickly stood up almost knocking his chair over. His face was stained with his tears.

"All of this stupid training is just a waste of time! Gato has a whole army behind him and he'll destroy you. All of these amazing things you guys say they don't mean anything. Just face it the strong will always win and the weak will always lose."

"Speak for yourself kid, it won't be like that for me. You got that." Naruto said as he laid his head back on his head.

"Why don't you just shut up?! Looking at you makes me sick. You don't know anything about this country so stop butting in. All you do is laugh and joke around, you don't know anything about real pain and being treated like dirt." Naruto tensed when Inari stopped speaking and Akina became slightly worried for Inari.

"Listen to yourself whining and complaining like some sorry little victim. You can whimper all day for all I care you're nothing but a coward!" Naruto yelled back. Inari stood there astounded at what Naruto accused him of and the tears kept rushing down his face.

"Naruto you went too far!" Sakura said with her hands on her hips. He didn't say anything but scoff it off and walked out of the house.

"Akina can you go follow him." Kakashi asked as he turned to her. She nodded her head and followed Naruto outside. Inari went outside soon after his face flushed with tears and his eyes clouded with pain. Tsunami was going to go after him but Kakashi held up his hand and said.

"May I talk with him for a minute." Tsunami was surprised at first but thought that maybe Kakashi would be able to reach her son since she hasn't had any luck.

"Alright." She said with a nod. Kakashi walked out and looked around. Sitting at the dock's edge was Inari his body still trembling from the heartache he keeps locked inside.

"Can I talk to you?" Kakashi asked as he walked towards him. Inari turned to look at him and shrugged his shoulders. Kakashi sat down letting his feet hang over the water and for a minute nothing was said between them.

"Naruto can be a little harsh sometimes but that doesn't mean he hates you. Your grandfather told us about your father. You see Naruto grew up without a father, in fact he never knew either of his parents. Not long ago Akina came to the Village Hidden in the Leaves and she became Naruto's first friend in the village. Even so I've never seen him cry, sulk, or give up. He's always eager to jump in, he wants to gain people's respect. That's his dream and he will lay his life on the line for that dream. My guess is that one day he got tired of crying and decided to do something about it. Even though he's young and he still has a lot to learn Naruto knows what it means to be strong. Like your father did. I think he knows better than anyone what you're going through. What Naruto said to you earlier, as cruel as it was, he's probably told himself that a thousand times." Ianri was staring at Kakashi with a mixture of awe and newfound respect for Naruto. He couldn't believe that a goofy kid like Naruto could endure through all of that with a smile on his face.

'_If Naruto can be happy like that, can I?'_

* * *

**Midnight…**

When everyone had calmed down after dinner Kakashi told his team to turn in so that they would be fully prepared to guard Tazuna the next day. The girls were sleeping peacefully on their side of the room whereas the boys' side was a different story. Naruto was pushed all of the way against the wall snuggling with a pillow. Sasuke had used the blanket and his pillow to barricade himself against Naruto's roaming limbs. Even though it wasn't the most comfortable sleeping position he would try to get as much sleep as he could get. But a constant probing threatened to take him out of his sleep.

'_I swear if it's Naruto I'm going to-' _When he opened his eyes though it wasn't Naruto who woke him up.

"Are you ready to go sleeping beauty?" Akina asked as she stood there with her hands on her hips. She was wearing a black tank top, red shorts, and she had her hands wrapped with bandages up to her elbows. He noticed that her hair was down compared to the usual ponytail he has always seen her wear.

"Go where?" Sasuke asked annoyed that she woke him up for no reason.

"You wanted to know what I've been doing right? Or did you change your mind?" Akina asked him with amusement in her eyes and a small smile on her lips. Sasuke was confused for a second until this morning's events rushed back to him making him sigh loudly. Slowly he got out of bed and followed Akina out of the window. She led him back to the area where he had first found her a few nights ago. Akina was standing a few feet in front of him and when she stopped he did as well. Now that he was awake Sasuke was silently eager to see what she had been working on so secretively.

"Are you finally going to tell me what you have been working on?" Sasuke asked. Akina smiled at him and confused him with her reply.

"Duck."

"What-?" Akina ran at him with her fist aimed towards his face. Sasuke quickly ducked out of the way and watched as her fist connected with the tree that was behind him. When her fist made contact with the tree the bark immediately caved in, unable to withstand the power. That chunk of the tree came off as Akina landed gracefully on the ground. Sasuke was sitting in a crouched position his mouth hanging slightly open and his eyes looked like they would come out of his head. Akina merely brushed off the dust and bark from her fist acting as if what she did was nothing.

"Are you satisfied?" She asked with amusement in her voice as she looked at Sasuke's expression. Akina lost her amusement when she saw Sasuke clench his fists tightly and anger over-ridded the shock in his eyes. Akina started to regret showing him this.

'_Why is she so strong?'_

"Sasuke are you ok?" He didn't anything for a minute straight and that just made Akina worry more. She walked towards him and was going to place a hand on his shoulder to see if he was ok but before she touched him Sasuke turned to her and said.

"Fight me now." Akina stopped moving. Now she really regretted showing Sasuke this, she didn't mean to upset him or anything.

"Maybe that's not the best idea Sasuke." He glared at her and decided to make the first move. Sasuke pushed his weight on his hands and swung his leg at her. Since she was too close to get out of the way Akina countered by grabbing his leg and kicked his arms from beneath him, letting him fall on his back. Sasuke got the wind knocked out of him when he landed but he let his anger fuel him to get back up and attack again. He pushed his weight on his hands and kicked his feet up in the air and landed standing up, fists ready. Akina watched him get himself up and moved back a little to fall into her fight stance. Her feet were spread apart enough she that they evenly held her weight. Her right arm held out in front her, fingers together and her palm facing her. Her left arm pressed against her back and her hand was in a loose fist. One thing that annoyed Sasuke was how calm she looked. Neither her expression or her eyes betrayed any real emotion; no anger, no caution, she was a blank canvas. Letting out a cry of anger he raced towards her, his fist raised. Akina waited for him to come and easily blocked his punch with a swipe of her hand. Sasuke stumbled from the block and Akina used this to her advantage as she brought her left hand around punched Sasuke in the face. She didn't put much force into the punch, since she didn't want to hurt him. Sasuke stumbled backwards a little but didn't fall. He turned his eyes toward her and she could see that he was beyond pissed now. Sasuke ran at her again going to aim at her legs. As he neared her he suddenly dropped on the ground and swung his leg out at her. Akina barely dodged it but she able to jump up in the air and avoid his kick. With a plan in mind Akina landed right on Sasuke, pinning his body with her own so he could no longer move. Sasuke struggled with all of his strength but it was useless, Akina's vice-like grip made unable to use his hands and her weight on his thighs made him unable to move his legs.

"Get off of me!" Sasuke yelled in her face.

"As soon as you calm down I will. Also the next time you fight someone you better box that temper of yours before you or your teammates get killed. A shinobi must always be calm and rational, they get sloppy when their emotions aren't in check." Akina replied in her calmest voice. Sasuke ignored her and continued to thrash underneath of her. Akina held her own for the five minutes that he struggled until the adrenaline stopped running through his system leaving him exhausted. Sasuke's breathing evened out since he had no choice but to calm down. Slowly Akina eased her grip on his wrists and when he didn't move she eased her weight off of his legs too. Sasuke just laid there on the ground staring at the sky while Akina sat next to him stretching her legs out, staring at the stars as well. There was a slight breeze in the air that filled the silence along with the nocturnal creatures of the forest. Nothing was said between them, Akina wanted Sasuke to really think about what she said because she has seen in it before many times in the Mist Village.

"So how are you able to do that." Akina looked at him and saw that was looking at her with his usual calm expression.

"It's exactly like the tree exercise except that I'm focusing the chakra in my fists instead of my feet."

"Is that how you were able to attack Zabuza the first time?"

"Yeah except I didn't have much control of it at the time. The tree exercise helped me to measure how much chakra I put into it so that I'm not destroying everything all of the time."

"No wonder my jaw doesn't hurt that much." Sasuke said while rubbing his jaw.

"I wasn't trying to hurt you Sasuke." Sasuke looked into her eyes and saw that she meant the truth.

"I'm sorry for randomly attacking you." Akina was surprised by his apology and it was kind of funny to see him embarrassed; he had closed his eyes and there was a slight flush in his cheeks. Akina got off of the ground and brushed the dirt from her shorts and turned to Sasuke with her hand reaching for his. Sasuke stared at her hand for a second before he sat up and grabbed it.

"I accept your apology Sasuke but the next time we spar I won't be holding back ok." Akina said as they started their journey back to the house.

"Hn. As if you can take me on." Sasuke replied with his usual tone.

"Have you already forgotten the _two _times I've put you on your back." Sasuke just glared at her as she smiled to herself.

* * *

**Yes Akina and Sasuke has another bonding moment in the forest at night. As always I welcome reviews/messages about how the story is going because sometimes things makes sense to me but not others. Hope you all enjoyed this.**


	16. Speak and He Shall Appear

**Another chapter is out! Now we finally dive in to the fight on the bridge. Hopefully this arc will be done within the next 2 chapters I think because I don't want to drag this out any longer. Please keep reviewing/favoriting/following because you make my day. Also if you're interested I started a new fanfic it's called Leave My Body. It's an Inuyasha fanfic with SesshomaruXOC, if you like those kinds of stories. I'm sorry if things don't make sense like I said fight scenes are not my strongest point, please PM me or review if I need to fix something.**

* * *

**(No one's POV)**

It was early in the morning when Team 7 and Tazuna were preparing to leave for the bridge. Everyone, excluding Naruto and Inari, was outside waiting. Kakashi turned to look at Tsunami before he spoke.

"I leave Naruto in your hands. He pushed his body to the limit by over training too much as usual. So don't expect him to move around that much at all."

"What about you Kakashi you're still recovering yourself."

"Don't worry about me I'll be fine."

"Alright then let's go." Tazuna lead the way to the bridge. No one knew what was waiting for them.

* * *

"_**Still licking your wounds Zabuza! I hired you to do a job now do it! You better be listening to-"**_

_CRUNCH!_

The walkie-talkie lied shattered in pieces on a small wooden rowboat. The figures stared at it, glad that they couldn't hear the annoying voice anymore.

"Are you ready Haku?" Zabuza asked knowing full well that Haku was ready for anything. He was his perfect weapon.

"I'm ready." Both looked up at the massive bridge before them. They both jumped up from the boat and prepared the field for battle.

* * *

The walk to the bridge was very quiet without Naruto's loud chatter. Sasuke and Sakura were guarding Tazuna, Sakura trying her best to talk to Sasuke, from the front while Kakashi and Akina guarded him from behind. Tazuna was excited about how close they were to completing the bridge and what it would do for his village. Akina was happy for him but she was wondering if Zabuza would still be hurt enough that he wouldn't interfere.

'_Highly doubt that. If Kakashi is already walking around without much pain then the same could be said for Zabuza. Kakashi and Zabuza are somewhat equals even though Zabuza sustained more physical damage then Kakashi.' _Akina was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Kakashi eying her glazed eyes.

"What's on your mind Akina?" Akina snapped out of her thoughts and looked towards Kakashi somewhat startled.

"I'm just wondering when Zabuza will show up again. I mean if you're already back on your feet with no problem then he should be mostly healed as well right?" Kakashi was surprised that she would take account of that but then again he doesn't really know much about her.

"We just have to keep our guard up until he shows. When he does just stay with Tazuna and I will let you know what to do." Akina nodded and followed the rest of the group on to the bridge. Littered over the bridge were the unconscious bodies of the workers. None of them were dead because they could hear them groaning in pain.

"What the hell happened? Who got to them!" Tazuna yelled out at the sight of them.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Akina muttered. Fog slid over the railings of the bridge and almost fully blocked their field of vision. It wasn't as thick as the first time but they could no longer the environment around them.

"Sasuke, Sakura, Akina protect Tazuna." Kakashi ordered and they all jumped into position. Sasuke was guarding Tazuna's front, Sakura and his left, Akina on his right, and Kakashi had his back. All of them had a kunai ready in their hand. It was silent for a moment, the tension louder than a crowd of people talking.

"Sorry I kept you waiting Kakashi. It seems you still have those brats with you. How pitiful that one is still trembling." Sasuke's hand was shaking while he held his kunai. Suddenly Zabuza clones surrounded them, each of them ready to kill.

"But this one still has no fear." Said the clone in front of Akina. Both were locked in a stare down; Zabuza's eyes showed his excitement while Akina's gaze revealed nothing. Sasuke let out a chuckle catching his attention.

"I'm trembling with excitement."

"Show him Sasuke." Akina said. Sasuke disappeared slashing every single clone. When he returned to his spot the clones fell into a puddle of water.

"So you could see they were water clones huh. Stupid brat is improving. Looks like you might have a rival Haku." Not far from them stood the real Zabuza along with the masked kid who told them he was a hunter ninja.

"So it seems."

"Well, well you're quite the actor aren't you? Pretending to be a hunter ninja was all an act." Kakashi said tauntingly.

"So that whole thing about being a tracker ninja and protecting his village was a bunch of bull." Tazuna said.

"It seems they've been pulling that stunt for a long time."

"He's got some nerve showing his face after pulling that trick." Sakura added. The boy didn't say a word to the group as they talked about him.

"That's it. I'm taking him out." Sasuke said, determination and annoyance flashing through his eyes.

"Oh Sasuke. You're so cool!" Sakura admired with hearts in her eyes.

"He's impressive. Even though they were only one tenth the strength of the original water clone jutsu, he did destroy them all." Haku said to Zabuza.

"Who cares that move gave us the advantage now use it." Zabuza ordered.

"Right." Suddenly he disappeared in a whirlwind and headed straight for Sasuke. Out of the whirlwind a Senbon needle came at Sasuke but he blocked it with his kunai. Both boys struggled against the other to gain the upper hand but their physical strength seemed to be evenly matched.

"Akina. Sakura. Protect Tazuna." Kakashi commanded.

"Right." Both Sakura and Akina responded as they covered Tazuna on both of his sides. Everyone had their eyes on Sasuke and Haku, watching their weapons clashing against one another.

"Just give up. We want the bridge builder not you. If you back down I won't have to kill you." Haku said to Sasuke.

"Is that some kind of joke because I'm not laughing?" Sasuke retorted.

"Don't be stupid you won't be able to keep up with my speed. I have already gained two key advantages." To Akina it sounded as if the boy was genuinely pleading with Sasuke to surrender.

'_Why would he say this? Is he just trying to throw us off with fake kindness?'_

"Oh yeah. Then what are they?" Sasuke said, knowing he would never back down from a challenge.

"First, we're surrounded by water. Second, I've blocked one of your hands which means you only have one hand to defend yourself." Suddenly he used his one hand to make hand signs. Something no one has ever seen before.

'_Hand signs with one hand?! I've never seen this before.'_ Kakashi thought as he watched the boy. Sasuke's thoughts were the same as Kakashi's as he watched, in shock, the boy finish.

"Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles of Death." Haku stomped his foot on the water, left behind by the water clones, causing it to rise in the air and transform into ice needles.

'_Remember the training, focus. Let the chakra flow to my feet!' _Needles came straight for Sasuke and within seconds there was a bellow of smoke where he was standing. Haku jumped out of the way in time and waited to see if Sasuke was dead or not. When the dust cleared Sasuke was nowhere in sight. Sasuke had used the chakra in his feet to jump in the air, avoiding the attack, and attacked the boy with his shuriken. Sasuke disappeared and appeared right behind him.

"From now on you'll be the one dodging my attacks." Sasuke attacked him with his kunai but the boy blocked it with his arm. Sasuke smirked as he threw his other kunai, from the hand that wasn't blocked, forcing the boy to duck to the ground to avoid it. Sasuke kicked the boy in his face, his body flying back towards Zabuza who stood there astounded.

'_This is impossible! No one is faster than Haku.' _Zabuza thought angrily.

"You thought you were faster than me. Let's see what else you're wrong about." Sasuke said to the boy.

"You were wrong to insult these ninja by calling them brats, that's just guaranteed to bring out Sasuke's attitude. And he's the best young fighter in the Leaf Village. Sakura here has one of the sharpest minds in the Village. Akina here is one of the strongest young kunoichi I have seen. Last but not least our number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Hmph. Haku if we keep going at this pace we'll be the victims instead of them. Get on with it."

"Right." Chakra seeped off of him and into the air. The air became colder and colder, Akina thought that she could see her breathe in front of her face.

"I'm sorry it's come to this." He made a hand sign and said, "Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors!" All around Sasuke ice appeared and became a large dome of mirrors, trapping him in. The boy walked to a mirror in front of him and his body seemed to melt into it but his image appeared on the front. Soon the whole dome of mirrors reflected his image. Kakashi ran towards Sasuke to help him but Zabuza blocked his path.

"If you enter this fight then you fight me. Or else I will kill the bridge builder." Zabuza threatened and Kakashi knew he was right. If he joined the fight he would leave Akina and Sakura to the mercy of Zabuza.

"Your boy has no chance against that jutsu." Sasuke stood there surrounded by the mirrors wondering how they worked and what could be his escape plan.

"Now I will show you what speed really is." All of the reflections held up a Senbon needle and threw it at him. It happened so fast that Sasuke couldn't see the Senbon until after they cut him all over. He stood there trying to defend himself but he couldn't keep up with the attacks they were simply too fast for him. The Senbon forced him to drop his kunai and it was hit again. It flipped out of the dome and landed in front of Akina. She picked it up and held it in her hand, her eyes on Sasuke and the pain on his face. Blood was dripping down his body from his multiple cuts and Akina knew he wouldn't last long, especially since the cold air would make the pain worse.

"Sakura guard Tazuna ok. I'm going to help Sasuke." She nodded her head in understanding. She knew that Akina would be of more help than she would and she had Kakashi to protect her so she wasn't worried.

"Go and help him please." Akina nodded and ran towards Sasuke, surprising Kakashi when she ran by. Akina ran to the side of the dome and threw the kunai to Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" At the sound of his name Sasuke looked up and saw Akina throw something towards him. It was his kunai. Before it could reach him a hand reached out of the mirror and grabbed it. Haku held the kunai in his hand and turned towards Sasuke, ready to use it.

'_Damnit!'_ Akina thought. She tried to come up with another plan to get Sasuke out but since she still wasn't sure how the mirrors worked she could make things worse by getting herself trapped too. A whirling sound caught her attention. Haku's face turned sharply to the right as if he was punched. He fell out of the mirror and onto the ground face down. Akina could see that a scar had appeared on his mask from his left lower jaw almost all of the way to his right temple. A cloud of firecrackers appeared on the bridge, everyone wondering whom it was.

'_Please tell me he did not just give away his position!' _Akina thought as she could finally see through the smoke. Standing there with his signature grin on his face was Naruto Uzumaki.

"Naruto Uzumaki is here! Believe it!" He yelled out. There was a moment of tense silence, everyone shocked at Naruto's lack of thought.

"That stupid brat is here." Zabuza said highly annoyed.

'_Naruto is definitely earning himself a reputation as the most clueless ninja in history. If he'd have stayed hidden he could have been so much more effective.' _Kakashi thought.

'_It's that boy from the forest.' _Haku thought.

* * *

_Haku had been out gathering herbs for Zabuza to help his wounds heal. He was wearing a pink kimono with red trims and a white sash so that any enemy would mistake him for a young girl, which he played off very well with his feminine beauty. A young bird landed on his shoulder making him smile. The bird flew off not far away and landed on a body. The boy was breathing deeply meaning he was alive and sleeping. The boy wore a bright orange attire with blue lines on it and a white collar. The sleeping boy turned his head towards Haku and Haku froze. On his forehead was a Leaf Village headband. Haku recognized him now. He was the young boy who yelled at him when he came to '__**remove'**__ Zabuza's body. Haku got up and walked towards the young genin, debating with himself._

'_**Should I kill him?'**__ Haku thought. Haku stopped next the boy and got down on his knees. Haku's hand reached out and grasped the genin's throat. Haku couldn't do it. Haku shook the boy's shoulder, not too roughly but enough to wake him._

"_You'll catch a cold if you stay out here. Wake up." Naruto woke up and found a very kind and pretty face smiling down at him. Naruto sat up, with a mrush of red on his cheeks, and smiled._

"_Hey. Uh, what are you doing out here?" Naruto was so nervous looking at this girl he started to scratch his cheeks in embarrassment. _

"_I'm gathering herbs." Haku smiled knowing why Naruto was blushing._

"_Herbs huh. You start work early don't you sis." Naruto said and began to help Haku gather some._

"_I like it early, it's very peaceful. And I also didn't think I would find anyone sleeping out here."_

_Naruto smiled his signature grin and said, "I'm training."_

"_So are you a ninja. Or is that headband a fashion statement." Haku hoped he would gain more information on who he would have to go against soon._

"_Oh so you noticed huh. Only super cool ninja can wear these."_

"_I see that's very impressive. Does that mean you're training for something dangerous?"_

"_I'm just developing my skills to get stronger."_

"_You seem pretty strong to me isn't that enough?"_

"_No I have to keep practicing and get stronger and stronger."_

"_Why is it so important for you be strong?"_

"_I want to become the strongest ninja in my village so that everyone will respect me. There is also something to prove someone, a little kid."_

"_So is all of this training for that person or just for yourself?" Naruto was confused as to what he was talking about. Haku had to laugh at the lost expression on his face._

"_Hey what are you laughing about? What's so funny."_

"_Is there someone precious to you?"_

* * *

Haku was brought back to the present when Naruto began talking again.

"You know how in stories the hero usually shows up in the end and saves everybody, well that's what I'm going to do!" Naruto shouted and created the hand sign for the shadow clone jutsu. Zabuza immediately recognized the sign and threw four shuriken straight at him.

"Naruto move!" Kakashi yelled out but Naruto stood there frozen. Haku threw Senbon at the shuriken, causing the weapons to cancel each other out. Everyone was surprised that he stopped the attack but wondered why.

"What do you think you're doing Naruto? Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Sakura yelled out.

"What do you think you're doing? This is a battle not a talent show. You're not supposed to let your opponent see your jutsu. You need to keep them guessing and strike when they're distracted. You just turned yourself into a target when you enter a battle like that."

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to save everyone." Naruto yelled out.

"Haku. What do you think you're doing?" Zabuza demanded.

"Let me fight this boy my own way. Please." Haku said.

"So you want me to leave him to you huh. You're still too soft, as usual."

"I'm sorry." It sounded like he was sorry but his monotone voice made it hard to tell.

'_He's right.'_ Sasuke thought. _'All of these cuts are shallow and not a single vital spot has been hit. But why? Is he trying to humiliate me?' _His anger began to boil at the thought. Then Akina's words from last night cut through the anger.

* * *

_"Get off of me!" Sasuke yelled in her face._

_"As soon as you calm down I will. Also the next time you fight someone you better box that temper of yours before you or your teammates get killed. A shinobi must always be calm and rational, they get sloppy when their emotions aren't in check." Akina replied in her calmest voice._

* * *

'_I have to stay calm and focused.' _Sasuke thought as he pushed down his anger.

"Oh yeah! Well one way or another I'm going to rip that mask apart." Naruto said pointing directly at Haku.

'_Naruto won't be able to match this kid. I have to find a way to-'_ Kakashi's thought was interrupted when Zabuza held his arm out in front of him, blocking his way to Naruto.

"Don't even think about it Kakashi. If you go after Haku, I'll go after the bridge builder." Zabuza said.

'_He's got me there. I can't go after him and leave Tazuna unprotected. Sakura is feisty but she couldn't take Zabuza on her own and Akina may be strong but I still don't know much of her abilities to judge. Besides Naruto and Sasuke could use her against the boy.'_

"Relax Kakashi. Let's see how they do."

Naruto and Haku faced off, Naruto's expression was of anger and determination.

"So you were with Zabuza all along, that mask and story is all fake!" Naruto said.

"I'm sorry. Don't take it personally but it's like your sensei said. Deceiving your opponent and catching them off guard is the art of being a shinobi." Haku said in his monotone voice. Naruto was surprised that he apologized.

'_While you're yapping I'll catch you off guard!'_ Sasuke took out a kunai and aimed it at Haku's head, seeming as though it would hit. Haku leaned his head back completely avoiding the attack.

"I haven't forgotten about you, not even for an instant." Haku said as he turned to face Sasuke. "Some warriors accept defeat gracefully, they know when they are beaten. Others do not. So be it let us finish our battle to the death." Haku walked up to one of his mirrors but stopped when Naruto yelled at him.

"Wait a second, we're not done here!"

"Don't worry Naruto we'll have our fight next." Haku said. A kunai landed in front of his foot just as he was about to take a step into his mirror, surprising him and everyone else. Haku jumped back and quickly ran to a different mirror. As he was about to enter it he was ambushed by kunai from different angles, forbidding him from entering.

'_This is impossible. None of them can keep up with my speed and the angles of the kunai suggest that there is more than one but how can that be.'_ Haku looked around and realized something important. The girl with the purple eyes was gone.

'_How could she have moved without me knowing?' _Haku thought. Akina watched him like a lioness hunting her prey; she watched his every movement, his every breath. While Haku was distracted talking to Naruto and Sasuke she made three clones of herself and made them lower their chakra so they wouldn't be noticed. The mist also worked to her advantage since it hid their movements without arousing any suspicion. Akina placed herself on one of the large cranes so she could oversee the whole bridge. Her clones hid within the steel towers of other machines on the bridge.

'_Those mirrors are the key to his attack so I can't let him get into one. This will give Sasuke time to get out of there.' _Akina thought. She watched as Haku tried to get to another mirror but Akina and her clones stopped him before he could reach it. Kakashi was surprised that Akina slipped away without anyone noticing and then be able to keep Haku away from his mirrors.

'_Already she deduced a way to weaken the enemy by alienating him from his main weapon while also using the mist to cover herself. Allowing time for Sasuke to escape. She really is something else.' _Kakashi thought. Naruto and Sasuke just watched as Haku struggled to get back to his mirrors. Sasuke looked around and saw that Akina was nowhere to be seen.

'_It must be her who's distracting him.'_ He thought, as he got ready to use the chance she gave him. Sasuke got up and ran towards the mirrors. Haku saw Sasuke running towards the mirrors, escaping.

'_This is enough. No more games, no more mercy.' _He pulled Senbon out his pouch and aimed them at Sasuke's legs. Akina threw kunai to block the attack but her reaction was too slow. Sasuke gasped as he felt his legs being stabbed by Senbon. He buckled to the ground, so close to escaping but he was officially trapped. He couldn't move his legs.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out and ran towards him.

'_No Naruto!' _Akina thought as she kept throwing kunai at Haku but he blocked all of them.

'_Shit! He must know where I am.' _Naruto made it to Sasuke and stood there with a kunai in his hand to defend him. Suddenly Haku disappeared in a whirlwind and appeared behind a mirror and quickly entered it. His reflection appeared in all of the mirrors, all of them holding Senbon in their hands.

"This time there will be no mercy. This is a real fight to the death." The Senbon bombarded Naruto and Sasuke, they cried as they were slashed everywhere. The attack also pushed them further within the center of the dome so they couldn't try to escape again. Akina tried to think of a way to help them but since he was in his mirrors there wasn't much she could do. When the attack stopped Naruto and Sasuke were panting hard and blood dripped down their arms, legs, and chests.

"How can we stop him? Where are the attacks even coming from?" Naruto asked Sasuke.

"I don't know where the attacks are coming from but either way I'm going to destroy these mirrors." Sasuke stood up and performed hand signs, ending with the tiger sign.

"Hey what are you doing?" Naruto asked completely lost.

"Think about it, what melts ice better than fire? Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" A giant flame of fire shot out of Sasuke's mouth, engulfing the mirrors in flames. Sasuke smirked as he thought the mirrors were destroyed but gasped when he saw that they were perfectly intact.

"That didn't do anything!" Naruto yelled out.

"You're going to need something hotter to melt these mirrors." Haku said, mocking Sasuke. Akina watched and tried to think of another way besides flames to destroy the mirrors.

Then a really crazy idea came to her.

'_Let's see if this works.' _Akina motioned for her clones to come to her and she told them what she wanted them to do. Akina stayed on her perch to watch her plan unfold. One clone came out of the mist and came straight towards a mirror, fist drawn back.

'_Now what is she trying to do.' _Zabuza thought as he watched on. The clone's fist made contact with the mirror.

_CRACK!_

Crack marks appeared on the mirror but it didn't shatter. Although her clone poofed away because of how dense the mirror was hitting the mirror caused it to get a broken hand. Everyone stared amazed that Akina had the strength to even damage the mirror by a little bit.

'_How the hell did she do that?!' _Zabuza thought and decided that she needed to go.

"Don't even think about it Zabuza. You're fight is with me." Kakashi said, using Zabuza's words against him. Zabuza scowled him, angry that he was right.

'_How is she so strong? No one has been able to even scratch my mirrors.' _Haku thought. Akina smirked at her small victory and sent her other clones to attack from different sides.

'_We might have a chance now. While Akina attacks from the outside, we'll attack from the inside.' _Sasuke thought.

"Hey Naruto. Can you make enough clones to attack all of the mirrors at once?" Sasuke asked looking at him.

Naruto stared at him slightly shocked before saying, "Uh, sure I can! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A hundred Naruto clones appeared and they all launched towards the mirrors.

'_I need to end this.' _Haku thought as he soared out of his mirror. To him they were all moving in slow motion allowing him to destroy all of the clones and send Naruto crashing back to the ground. Akina's clones hit two of his mirrors but like the first they ended up poofing away, leaving only small cracks behind.

'_No matter how strong she is she will never be able to break my mirrors.' _Haku thought, watching Naruto struggle to get up.

"These mirrors merely reflect my image, allowing me to transport at light speed. Through my eyes you appear to be moving in slow motion."

"Of course, it's a Kekkei Genkai." Kakashi said.

"What is a Kekkei Genkai sensei?" Sakura asked looking at him.

"It's like my Sharingan, you can't learn it, it has to be in your blood. It's your genetic code passed down through generations within a single clan."

"So that means…" Fear gripped at Sakura stopping her from finishing her sentence.

"Yes even I can't copy that. There isn't a way to destroy it."

"Oh yeah so what! I'm not going to give up because I have a dream to accomplish! One day everyone in my village will respect me and I'll be the greatest Hokage ever!" Naruto shouted his determination shining through his blue eyes. Haku was shocked by his renewed determination and a memory came to him from long ago.

* * *

_It was so cold. A young boy sat on a bridge while the falling snow gathered on the ground. He was dirty from living on the streets and wore raggedy clothing that didn't do much to keep him warm. A man waked on the bridge, the lower half of his face was covered with bandages but his attire said that he was from the Village Hidden in the Mist. He stopped at stared at the young boy sitting on the bridge who looked back at him._

_The man chuckled darkly. "Pathetic little urchin." The boy didn't say anything even when the man walked towards him and crouched in front of him. "Nobody wants you, huh. Before winter ends you'll die with nothing, not even a dream." The man gasped when the young boy smiled at him._

"_Yours eyes are just like mine mister, we're both the same."_

* * *

"It was not my desire to become a shinobi, it's painful. I don't won't to kill you but if you continue I will have no choice. I will kill the kindness in my heart and embrace the shinobi way. There will be no mercy, no turning back. This bridge will be the battlefield where our dreams collide. I fight for someone who is precious to me. I live for him and I face death for him so that his dream may become reality. That is my dream and if I must I will act as a shinobi and take your lives."

* * *

**Uh oh things are getting serious! I hope you all enjoyed and I'm sorry if the many page breaks are annoying. What do you guys think will happen next?**


	17. Absolute Zero

**Hi everyone. I know I've been on hiatus since the end of this past September without any word from me but life, college, and lack of motivation got in my way. But I'm finally doing this again and I ****will see when I can get the next chapter out. I would like to thank those who have stayed with me and for those who are just joining in on the adventure. I tried hard to make events a little different than they appear in the anime so if anything seems to be weird/awkward let me know in a review/PM and I will try my best to fix it. Enjoy!**

* * *

(No one's POV)

"It was not my desire to become a shinobi it's painful. I don't want to kill you but if you continue then I will have no choice. I will kill the kindness in my heart and embrace the shinobi way. There will be no mercy, no turning back. This bridge will be the battlefield where our dreams will collide. I fight for someone who is precious to me. I live for him and I face death for him so that his dream may become a reality. That is my dream and if I must I will act as a shinobi and take your lives."

A smirk appeared on each of the genin's faces. They weren't going to show mercy either.

* * *

"Yeah! You guys can do beat him!" Sakura shouted trying to raise their spirits.

"Sakura stop. Don't push them. Even if they were to somehow beat his jutsu they still wouldn't be able to beat this ninja." Kakashi said never taking his eyes off of Zabuza.

How can you be so pessimistic sensei?" Sakura said with anger and confusion. Zabuza began laughing at her as if she said the dumbest thing he has ever heard.

"They have the desire to win but they don't have the instinct to kill. That boy is in a whole different league than them. He lives for pain. He thrives on it."

"Exactly, your village has become too complacent. Your trainees never learn the most important lesson of all; to crush the feelings in their own heart. To destroy an enemy mercilessly with no emotion or regret." Zabuza said as chakra began to swirl around him.

"But sensei if they can't beat him then what are we going to do?" Sakura said with more worry for her teammates than she had before.

'_I could attempt to make a break for Naruto and Sasuke but then he would just kill the bridge builder. If I made shadow clones he would just counter with water clones then I would be wasting chakra and time. Oh well seems like I have no other choice. I'm gonna have to do this the hard way, it's either me or Zabuza.' _Kakashi thought as he grabbed his headband.

'_The Sharingan.' _Sakura thought as she realized what he was doing.

Zabuza chuckled as he reached the same conclusion.

"The Sharingan again Kakashi? That's no fun, using the same trick." Zabuza quickly grabbed a kunai from under his shirt and quickly closed the distance between him and Kakashi. Kakashi didn't have enough time to completely block it. He held up his right hand to take the blow, the kunai's blade going through his hand.

"Sensei no!" Sakura yelled out.

"If it's an old trick why are you so desperate to stop me?" Kakashi remarked at him. Blood was dripping down his arm and onto the ground as the kunai was still embedded in his hand.

"Let your opponent see you jutsu too many times and hell find a way to use it against you."

"Then you should consider yourself lucky. There isn't a man alive who's seen my Sharingan twice but there won't be a third time for you." This only made Zabuza laugh.

"Even if you were to defeat me there's no way you would win against Haku. When I found him he was nothing but a street kid but I trained him in the most advanced ninja arts. I taught him everything I know and he even had his own special abilities that he refined on his own. He developed quickly and soon he could take on the strongest of enemies; outnumbered in total darkness it didn't matter. He could strike with perfect accuracy. He didn't care for his life or the lives of others. He became the perfect fighting machine. A shinobi. In the end his powers surpassed even mine. His kekkai genkai cannot be defeated by anyone. I have created a tool that can destroy anything in my way. Unlike those useless brats that follow you around." Zabuza jerked the kunai from Kakashi's hand.

"If that girl doesn't die after I kill you maybe I'll take her under my wing too. Since she's the only one with the potential to kill anything." Kakashi knew who he was talking about and felt anger course through his veins.

'_He can't take Akina from us!' _Sakura screamed in her head.

* * *

"Naruto can you create enough clones to smash those mirrors?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto chuckled and said, "Of course I can just watch this. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Akina decided to help as well by making the same amount of clones as Naruto, but her clones attacked from the outside. Almost immediately their clones were disappearing in puffs of smoke but Akina's clones were able to crack some of the mirrors before disappearing. Sasuke was still in his crouched position analyzing anything he could about Haku. He noticed that when one of Naruto's clones kicked up some water into the air it looked as if something was making it swish back and forth.

'_So that's how his jutsu works. He must be moving from mirror to mirror instead of clones. If only I could track his movements somehow then I could attack him with my fireball jutsu.' _Sasuke thought as he devised a plan.

"Naruto. Akina. I need you to do it one more time." Sasuke said.

Naruto and Akina did as he said and attacked the mirrors again with their clones. Haku took them out again but his mirrors were still being hit by Akina's clones. They were the hardest to hit with his needles since they were outside of his ice dome and he used more energy on destroying Naruto's clones. Haku knew that at this rate he wouldn't be able to stop from having one of his mirrors destroyed he needed to take them out now. Starting with the girl with purple eyes. Unknowing to him though Sasuke had been tracking his movements again by kicking up more water and watching it be hit. It was as if he could see Haku more clearly the more he watched.

'_Alright I can do this.' _Sasuke thought.

"Again!" He yelled out. They were getting tired but Akina and Naruto were able to make more clones. Haku shot out of his mirror and struck down most of the clones. Just as he was about to strike down the last of the clones he noticed Sasuke's fireball shooting towards him.

'_Impossible!' _He thought as he dodged the fireball and took out the last of the clones. When he returned to his mirror he noticed that the bottom of his left pant leg was singed from the fireball.

'_I am getting better. Next time I will take him out for sure.' _Sasuke thought with his signature smirk.

* * *

"Are you done bragging yet? You're putting me to sleep. Lets finish this now." Kakashi pulled up his headband, revealing his Sharingan. Anger was still in his voice from Zabuza's comment about taking Akina.

"Don't worry I just have one last thing to tell you. A little bit more bragging as you say." This intrigued Kakashi as Zabuza put his kunai away.

"Do you think our last battle was win or lose? That I took your hits like rank genin? Haku was there, hiding, watching your every move. Analyzing your Sharingan. You see when Haku has seen a jutsu only once he can immediately device a lethal counterattack. It's another one of his special abilities. I've been wondering what your face would look like when you realize that your Sharingan is worthless. You told me before that the same jutsu wouldn't work on me twice. Well now it's my turn to tell it to you." There was a mischief glint in Zabuza's eyes when he finished speaking.

'_What is he planning?' _Kakashi thought.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu." Almost immediately the fog on the bridge became thicker. It seemed to swallow anything that was visible like a blanket that you could put your hand an inch from your face and you would barely know it was there.

'_What's going on? This mist is so thick that visibility is absolute zero.' _ Tazuna thought.

"Sensei?" Sakura called out hoping he was still there.

"Sakura go stay with Tazuna." He answered.

"Right." Sakura ran in the direction where she knew she last saw Tazuna. As she approached Tazuna become worried that it was Zabuza but once he saw her pink hair he calmed down.

"Oh Sakura it's just you."

"Don't worry Mr. Tazuna just follow my lead. No matter what happens just stay by my side.

"Alright don't you worry I'll be right behind you."

* * *

'_The human eye cannot track my movements and yet this boy knew which path I would take. Seems like I may have to take him out first.' _He prepared his needles as Sasuke told Akina and Naruto to do it again. Haku took out the clones and just when Sasuke released his fireball Haku hit him with needles too. Sasuke grunted in pain and had to release his jutsu before it could hit Haku.

'_Damnit he stopped me before I could make a complete fireball. I need to think of something else Naruto looks done and I don't know what Akina's chakra is like right now.' _Across from him Naruto was kneeling on the ground with needles and cuts all over his body and he was panting really hard. He looked like he was about to pass out. Above them Akina was okay physically but she didn't have much chakra left to continue to do this.

'_Now I will make sure they stay down.' _Haku thought as he disappeared from his mirror. He appeared in the middle of the dome and attacked Sasuke with needles. Luckily Sasuke was able to take out a kunai and block most of them but some of the needles dug into his stomach and arms. Haku kept throwing needles at him hoping that he would give him a clear shot to his heart. Akina took this opportunity to make two clones of herself and attack Haku while he was busy with Sasuke. Her clones attacked him both sides with kunais ready to take him out. Before they could reach him though he disappeared.

'_Where did he go?'_ Sasuke and Akina thought.

'_Naruto!' _Akina thought as she raced down from her perch to Naruto, no time to make clones. Naruto had collapsed onto his side from exhaustion and low chakra, with no idea that he was in danger. Haku appeared above him and released a rain of needles.

* * *

'_This mist is so thick. How can Zabuza fight in this?' _Kakashi thought as he waited for Zabuza's first move. A sound caught his attention. He quickly turned around and stopped the shuriken attack with a kunai.

"Very skillful as I would expect from Kakashi the Sharingan Warrior." Kakashi was startled when Zabuza's voice came from a close distance behind him. He turned to face him and saw that Zabuza had eyes closed.

"But the next time you see me will be the last time you see anything. Without your precious Sharingan you have nothing." Zabuza disappeared back into the mist and his voice sounded like he was surrounding Kakashi.

"You wanted me to believe you could see through everything even time. You were wrong then Kakashi because I'm still alive. You're nothing but a fraud Kakashi. You can't read through time and you can't read me. Sharingan is a cheap trick that makes you appear more powerful than you are. I know now that you your Sharingan have two elements; the Piercing Eye that sees every detail and the Hypnotic Eye that mesmerizes your opponent. By using both of these abilities you can execute multiple jutsu in quick succession to make it seem as if you can see into the future. First with your Piercing Eye you copy my movements instantly making me doubt my own thoughts. Once I was shaken up you infiltrated my mind and waited for the slightest indication that would suggest my next movement. Then you wait for the right moment to create a new illusion that would throw me off. Then you use your Hypnotic Eye to induce me to make hand signs while you were doing the same ones. You made it appear as if you were copying me when instead you were controlling my movements. Now that I have this information I can use a simple plan to bring you down. First neutralize your piercing with zero visibility mist." Suddenly Kakashi was hit and he could barely block it. He was pushed back a few feet and landed in a crouch position.

'_The mist is slowing my reaction time.' _Kakashi thought.

"Next neutralize your Hypnotic Eye by keeping my own eyes closed. You can't penetrate my mind in you can't look into my eyes."

"That's sounds like a great plan except with your eyes closed you can't see me either."

"Have you forgotten who I am Kakashi? I'm the Demon of the Hidden Mist the master of the silent kill. I can take you out with just sound alone!"

'_It's been a long time since I've faced anyone this tough. An enemy I can't see and can't hear. And I don't know how much longer Naruto and Sasuke can hang on even with Akina there on the outside. I have to stay calm. Where will he strike next?'_ The answer comes to him within a moment.

"The bridge builder!"

Sakura was still standing guard in front of Tazuna waiting for this battle to be over. Behind them Zabuza appeared with his hand already on his sword. Both Sakura and Tazuna turn around to face him just Kakashi places himself between them and Zabuza. Zabuza pulled out his sword and attacked.

* * *

_**Drip. Drip.**_

Naruto felt something wet run down his face and when he opened his eyes he gasped in shock. Akina was crouched above him with needles covering most of her back. Her eyes were closed tightly and she panted from the effort of dealing with the pain.

"Akina why did you do that?" Naruto asked. An image of when Iruka almost took the windmill shuriken attack for him before Akina saved them appeared in his head. Then when she saved him again from Zabuza when he was being coward floated through his mind.

Akina opened her eyes and said, "Because you're my teammate and friend. I'll always have your back." Slowly she tried to stand straight so as to not hurt herself further.

_**AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!**_

All of the genin's blood ran cold when they recognized that scream.

"That was Sakura screaming! What's going on out there?" Naruto asked as he got up.

"Where is Kakashi at?" Sasuke said.

"I suggest that you all pay attention." Haku said. Akina felt something hit her hard in her chest making her fly backwards into a mirror. All she could register was throbbing pain. She knew her head hit the mirror pretty hard and the needles went further into her back. Her eyesight was very blurry and she could barely register Naruto and Sasuke calling out her name. They tried to get to her but were intercepted by needles. Haku appeared in the mirror Akina was leaning against.

"You may as well surrender now I have taken out your strongest fighter. There is nothing the two of you can do." Sasuke glared at him with anger but he knew that he might be right.

'_We definitely don't have enough chakra for Naruto and I to take him out and Akina was a big advantage with her clones.' _Sasuke thought.

"Damn you! I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to Akina!" Naruto yelled out as he created clones.

"Naruto don't!" Sasuke shouted but it was too late. Without Akina's clones to help distract him Haku was able to take out Naruto and his clones faster than before. Needles were pelting Sasuke even as he tried to defend himself against them using a needle from off the ground. Naruto landed back on the ground with more needles all over his body. Naruto struggled to get up again but passed out, his body was too hurt and his chakra reserve was running on low.

"I told you that you should just give up, nothing you do will make a difference. You're both running low on chakra making your reflexes slow, unable to dodge the speed of my needles. Your abilities are weakening slowly but surely. Now I will make sure you never get up again." Haku prepared his needles to hit the areas of Naruto's body that would render him immobile. Sasuke quickly stood in front of Naruto and blocked all of the needles.

'_That's impossible!' _Haku thought as he looked at the panting Sasuke. Haku decided to try to throw him off by constantly moving his position in the mirrors. Sasuke kept his focus solely on Haku; his eyes were getting better at tracking his movements.

'_I just have to keep focusing on him. But I wont be able to hold out like this forever.' _Sasuke thought as he blocked more needles.

'_How is he doing this? My speed is beyond the human eye, there is no way he should be able to track my movements. If that's the case then I won't be able to attack him. I'll attack his teammate instead.' _Haku turned his attention to Akina, who was still in the same position against his mirror. Her breathing was harsh and small rivers of blood were flowing down the ice mirror and one ran down her face over her right eye. Sasuke was confused when Haku turned away from him but when he followed Haku's line of sight he saw why.

'_Shit!' _Sasuke pushed his chakra to his legs and ran as fast as he could to Akina. Akina couldn't even tell she was in danger; the blow to her head made everything unfocused. Her head was throbbing in sync with her heartbeat and she was suddenly removed from the cool ice her head pounded harder. She could tell that whatever moved was breathing hard and was wearing something with a navy blue color.

'_Sasuke?'_ Was the thought that came to her as he gently set her down, on her side, near Naruto.

"It's not complete but I can see through your deceptions." Sasuke said. Even though her vision was still blurry Akina knew what she was looking at when she noticed two blood red orbs on his face.

'_He's awakened his Sharingan? He has a better chance now of beating this guy.' _Akina thought.

Haku gasped when he saw the Sharingan in Sasuke eyes.

'_So he has a kekkai genkai as well, the power of a unique bloodline trait passed down through a clan. To even uncover this power in the middle of a lethal attack is an amazing feat. Now that he has it I won't be able to hold out much longer, he will be getting stronger as the battle progresses. He will continue to use those eyes to track my movements. This jutsu of mine already takes most of my chakra and soon I won't be able to hold it much longer. For now I will keep him on his toes and strike him at his weakest point.'_

Haku began to move from mirror to mirror as he did before and released needles as he moved along. Each time though Sasuke was able to block them and was already in position for the next ones before they came at him.

'_I'm getting better with these eyes of mine. I can already tell that he's almost at his limit too. His movements are getting slower as mine get better.'_ Sasuke thought as he blocked more needles.

'_Damnit. I am aiming for his vital spots and I can't get a clear shot at them. He seems to know where I'm aiming for.'_ As Haku thought this Naruto released a groan of pain and tried to move.

"Naruto if you're awake I need you to get up. I can't keep protecting you like this. We need to get Akina out of here too." Sasuke said without taking his eyes off Haku.

"I know I know. I'm trying." But Naruto was still too weak and couldn't get up.

"Don't worry about me. Just focus on the enemy for right now, that's our main priority." Akina mumbled out looking at Sasuke, her vision less blurry than before.

"Don't be stupid Akina. You're a main priority too." Sasuke said looking down at her.

'_Now!' _Haku thought as he sent out needles towards Sasuke. Sasuke didn't see it but Akina did.

'_No!'_

* * *

Kakashi's chest was throbbing as he clenched tightly onto the wound that Zabuza's sword had made. Blood was dripping through his vest and onto the ground.

"You were late Kakashi." Zabuza said in a teasing tone. "You let the safety of those brats cloud your mind even further than it already is. Adding to the fog that surrounds your Sharingan. Your eyes may be sharp Kakashi but you can't read my movements anymore. I suggest you stop worrying about those brats they're at Haku's mercy. They're probably breathing their last breath as we speak. But don't worry you can apologize to them for failing them when you see them in the afterlife." With a demonic laugh Zabuza disappeared back into the mist.

"He said Sasuke would die." Sakura said to herself but she quickly shook away her doubt. "No. I need to have faith in Sasuke's abilities and believe that he will make it out of this alive. I believe in Naruto and Akina too."

"Exactly." Kakashi said surprising Sakura. She hadn't known he was listening to her. "I believe in their abilities. I have faith in them. Naruto the number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja. Akina the strongest kunoichi who will some day become the best ANBU Captain. And Sasuke, heir to the most powerful clan in the Hidden Leaf Village." Zabuza was shocked when he heard about Sasuke because he knew exactly which clan Kakashi was talking about.

"You mean-" Kakashi cut him off before he could finish.

"Yes. His full name is Sasuke Uchiha. The abilities of the Uchiha clan run through his veins. The Sharingan is his birthright."

"I had heard that only one young ninja had survived the tragedy of the Uchiha clan. That would explain how he advanced so quickly. But so does Haku, no one has been able to stop his secret jutsu. Even the most skilled shinobi fall before even just as I will make you fall before me!"

"Sakura stay with Tazuna." Kakashi ordered.

"Right, I got it." She said with confidence. Kakashi ran farther into the mist so that he could direct the fight about to happen away from Tazuna and Sakura.

'_It is time to end this but he is the one who will fall!'_

* * *

The sound of needles digging into flesh filled the air. Sasuke gasped as Akina was suddenly standing before him. She coughed up some blood since the needles that were aimed for Sasuke's heart hit her near her right lung. Sasuke was able to look straight into her eyes, since they were practically the same height, and all he could see was pain and contempt.

"Like I said focus on the enemy right now I'll be fine." Akina said with a small smirk on her face.

"Damnit Akina! You should have stayed down and let me handle it." Sasuke yelled at her. Akina didn't even flinch at his reprimand everything was getting too dark.

"Then you would be dead and Kakashi would lose against the both of them and our mission would be a failure." The pain of moving and taking that hit was beginning to take its toll as her legs gave out on her. Sasuke caught her and an image of his family flashed through his mind.

"Don't you dare fall asleep on me you have to stay awake!" Sasuke said slightly shaking her as her eyes were fighting to stay open.

"Do your best Sasuke." Akina whispered as the darkness took total control of her mind. Sasuke didn't want to admit it but he was slightly scared when her eyes dropped closed and she became limp in his arms. Sasuke gently laid her down and looked at Haku who had watched the scene from his mirror. Sasuke glared hard at him with hatred and determination blazing in his Sharingan. Sasuke stepped in front of Akina and performed hand signs.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Haku easily transported to a different mirror but Sasuke followed his movements releasing fireball after fireball.

'_Seeing his teammate falling before him seems to have given him new determination. He now has the desire to kill.'_ Haku thought as he appeared behind Sasuke and released needles. Sasuke easily turned around and blocked the needle attack. This continued on for a few minutes; Haku moving around his mirrors trying to throw Sasuke off but Sasuke blocked his attacks every time. The attacks seemed to slower to Sasuke though. Haku was losing too much chakra and he was almost at his limit.

'_I'm sorry Zabuza it seems like I won't have much chakra to help you against Kakashi. Don't worry I'll end this.'_ Haku thought as he resorted to his last strategy. Haku left the safety of his mirrors and headed straight for Sasuke.

'_I'll take you down now!' _Sasuke thought as he waited. Haku was about a foot away from him when he went around Sasuke.

'_What?!' _Sasuke thought as he watched Haku pass him by. Sasuke ran after him before he could reach his destination. He grabbed Haku's arm and threw him into one of his mirrors, ignoring the instant pain in his chest.

Naruto could hear that the fight was going on but he was so tired in too much pain to really follow what was going on but when he began to open his eyes he saw Sasuke standing in front of him and Haku lying face down on the ground a few feet away.

'_He did it?' _Naruto thought as he pushed himself up slowly with a smile on his face.

"Hey Sasuke you did it! You totally took that guy out." Naruto's smile was short lived when Sasuke turned to face him. Sasuke had blood coming out of his mouth and he looked so tired and… dead.

"Seems like your timing is getting as bad as Kakashi's. And you're still getting in my way." Sasuke said with his usual attitude but it sounded like he couldn't put any real effort into his words.

"Well it's not like I asked you to watch out for me! I didn't ask you to save me!" Naruto yelled out not believing what he was seeing.

"Well I did. My body moved on its own without me thinking." Sasuke had never felt so physically weak as he did in that moment and he even felt calm. Suddenly his world became off balanced and he fell backwards. Naruto quickly got up and caught Sasuke before he could hit the ground.

"My brother is still out there and I promised my self that I would never rest until I killed him. Naruto don't let your dream die." Darkness consumed Sasuke's mind and he gladly drifted into its warm embrace. Naruto's body became rigid. Sasuke had stopped breathing and his eyes were closed shut. Naruto couldn't believe that his rival, a friend, was lying dead in his arms. Sure he acted like he despised Sasuke's very being but Naruto truly looked up to Sasuke in a way he would think a brother would. He wanted to be able to do what Sasuke could and better. Naruto felt as if his world was crumbling away.

"Akina! Akina! I need you! Where you?" Naruto screamed at as he looked around but when he looked behind him he almost cried. Akina was lying on her side with blood staining her hair and her face. She looked so pale and Naruto couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. Naruto reached out to touch her and when he did he pulled his hand back as if he had been burned. Akina was unnaturally cold. In the short time that Naruto had met Akina he felt as if she had been there his entire life. She immediately accepted him as her friend and even when she found out he had a demon trapped inside of him she didn't run. She didn't change the way she interacted with him at all. For days, after the incident, he waited for the look of hatred and disgust to fill her eyes, the same look everyone in the village gave him his entire life. She looked at him with a small smile on her face as if he was just another normal person and nothing more.

"Onee-san?" Naruto's voice quivered, tears gathering in his eyes.

'_That boy. He knew that it was a trap and yet he rushed in there to save the people who were precious to him. He is truly a ninja worthy of honor.'_ Haku thought as he got up.

"Is this the first time you've seen someone die before you? This is part of what it means to be a ninja." Naruto looked away from Akina and saw that Haku had stood up.

"Just shut up." Naruto said looking back down at Sasuke and Akina, both of who had dreams that may never be accomplished. The atmosphere became warmer around Naruto as a circle of steam enveloped him and his friends. Haku didn't understand where this heat was coming from as he stepped back into his mirror. The circle of steam escalated to a spiral of fiery orange chakra. The chakra was so strong that it was creating long scars on the bridge. Haku watched as the bent over form of Naruto was shaking as if he was trying to control something. Naruto felt nothing but rage fill his every fiber and the bloodlust that was taking control over his every thought.

_**Kill him. **_

Naruto didn't know what dark voice was saying this; he didn't care, because that was exactly what he wanted to do. Naruto's eyes were no longer the gentle sea blue he was born with. Now they were a deep crimson red that wished for nothing but violence and blood. The spiral of chakra became larger as Naruto stood up.

'_What is this? Chakra can't be seen and yet it's clearly visible. It's something ghastly almost like evil itself.' _Haku wondered. Above Naruto's head the chakra gathered and transformed into an image of a fox just as demonic as Naruto with teal eyes that wished for blood to be shed and white fangs that glittered with glee for the battle about to happen. The needles all over Naruto's body began to pop out as his cuts began to heal in seconds.

'_His hands are healing and changing.'_ Haku noticed as Naruto's nails transformed from little stubs to full on claws. The whiskers on his face were more pronounced and his iris went from round to catlike; adding to his demonic look.

Not too far away Kakashi had stopped when he felt the chakra. Even Zabuza couldn't believe what chakra he was feeling.

'_What is that energy? It's something foul. It can't be Kakashi because it's too powerful even for him. Then who is doing this?' _Zabuza thought.

'_It can't be. But I know that this is the chakra of the Nine-Tails. This is putting Naruto and everyone else in danger. Of all times for the seal to be broken. I have to stop it fast.' _Kakashi thought remembering the night the Nine-Tails attacked 12 years ago.

Haku continued to watch, as Naruto was almost finished with his transformation. His hair turned wild and his canines were elongating, becoming more pronounced. The fox head creature let out a roar that Haku could feel in his bones and disappeared into the sky. When it was done Naruto was in a crouch and looked straight at Haku.

"I'm gonna kill you."

* * *

**I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter will wrap up this arc and soon I'll be moving on to the next one which is my favorite.**


	18. The Bridge of Hope

**Surprise! I actually got another chapter out in less then a month! OMG! I am so excited to get started on the Chunin Exam Arc so hopefully that will keep me going for awhile cause a lot of things are going to happen and a lot of things will be revealed. Please enjoy this abnormally long chapter of mine. (I really wanted to get this arc wrapped up so that's why it's so long.)**

* * *

"I'm gonna kill you." Naruto stated but his voice was deeper and rough, a polar opposite of his usual happy higher pitched voice. Naruto ran towards Haku on all fours with his teeth bared like an animal.

'_Those eyes. This is no longer a child.' _Haku thought as he threw needles at Naruto. Naruto let out a roar of chakra that canceled out the needles. When Naruto reached him Haku disappeared, making Naruto skid to a stop, and reappeared in a mirror behind Naruto's field of vision.

'_His chakra is growing stronger by the second. I have to attack full force.' _Haku thought as he reflected his image to all of his mirrors. Naruto was hit full force with needles, sticking out of his body like before, but Naruto released another wave of chakra. Forcing the needles out of his body and making Haku lose his focus, his image no longer being reflected. While Haku was recovering Naruto came straight towards him and shattered his mirror with his fist. As the shards flew into the air Haku appeared out of one of them, right above Naruto who was on all fours, and launched his needles. Naruto seemed to know where he was because he easily spun out of the way unharmed. Haku quickly tried to run to a mirror, since his attack failed, but Naruto gripped his arm like a vice; almost to the point of breaking Haku's arm.

'_What is this child?!' _Haku thought with fear.

Naruto gathered chakra in his free hand and punched Haku on the face. Haku flew backwards, going through one of his mirrors, and rolled along the ground until he eventually stopped. His mask shattered as his ice dome of mirrors fell down like raindrops. Haku slowly stood up as Naruto ran towards him about to end him.

'_Zabuza. I have failed you I am no match for this boy. Please forgive me.' _Haku's mask lay in pieces on the ground before him. Naruto stood there in front of him with his fist an inch away from Haku's face. He was no longer a vicious animal craving for blood; he was the sleeping boy Haku had stumbled upon in the forest.

"So that guy in the woods was you?" Naruto asked.

"Why don't you strike? Didn't you vow to avenge your comrades death by killing me or was that an empty promise?" Naruto looked back at Sasuke and Akina trying to find the anger he had felt but he couldn't do it. Naruto let out a frustrated well as he punched Haku in the face making him stumble and fall to the ground. Haku coughed up some blood slowly stood up again.

"That won't do you are holding back. How do you expect to keep your vow when that was all the strength you can put in to it? It seems as though they don't mean as much to you as you pretend. To show mercy to your enemies when you have the opportunity to strike them down is not compassion. What is your purpose then? You will be of no use to anyone and have no reason for living, You will only exist day after day with the pain of knowing you're not wanted by anyone."

"Well speak for yourself." Naruto yelled at him.

"Are you blind I am speaking of myself. After this day I am no longer of use to Zabuza."

"Why devote your life to a scum who doesn't know the meaning of friendship. If he's really the only person you can depend on then that's the sorriest thing I have ever heard!"

"At one time there were others I cared for, my mother and father. I was born in a small farm village in the Land of Water where it was always snowing. My parents were poor farmers and we had tough times but we were content with the simple life. My parents were good to each other and very kind to me but one day everything changed. Something that had happened long before I was even born changed everything."

"What do you mean? What happened that changed everything?" Naruto asked.

"My father killed my mother. A long time ago there was a war in my homeland, one that was full death and hatred. Hatred directed towards the fighters because most of them possessed a special trait a kekkai genkai. Once the war was over anyone who possessed a kekkai genkai was feared and thought that they would only bring upon another war. Which is how the slaughter began of anyone who had a special trait. Many families who possessed kekkai genkai disbanded and went into hiding fearing that their blood would lead to their death. I'm sure if you were to look into that boy's memories I'm sure you would have found it; the cruelty of people towards things they don't understand." Haku looked passed Naruto and looked straight at Sasuke. Naruto followed his gaze and understood what he meant.

"One day I was outside with my mother as she was hanging up the laundry. My father had gone into town to get supplies for planting. I was simply playing in a small pond we had and as I gathered water in my hands it transformed into a little sphere that I could shape anyway I wanted. I had never done anything like that and I was so excited to show my mother. But when she saw it I saw fear in her eyes. For years my mother had successfully hid the lineage of her blood and when she married my father she thought she would live the rest of her days in peace without worry. She hit me and yelled at me to never do it again but she immediately apologized and began to cry. She told me that we would be okay and that my father can never know what happened but it was too late. My father had come home earlier than expected and he saw what I did. The next day while my mother and I was home alone my father came home but he had other local farmer men with him. My father killed my mother and then tried to kill me."

"That's so horrible." Naruto whispered.

"I was able to get away but I had never felt so empty in my life; my mother and father were both dead, It wasn't until I began to live off of the streets did I realize I no longer had a purpose I mattered to no one."

'_This guy. He's just like me in a way.' _Naruto thought.

"Why is it you want to become Hokage so badly? It's because you want all eyes of your village to look at you and think of you as a great ninja. You see it's through the eyes of others do our means have any true meaning. When no one sees you or avoid looking at you it's as if you don't even exist. When Zabuza looked at me he didn't look at me with fear or hate he didn't shun me for my strangeness. Even though my abilities were just what he wanted he gave me a purpose again. With him I was happy. I'm sorry that I have failed you Zabuza. I am like a broken weapon who is of no use to you anymore." Haku whispered the last part to himself. He walked closer to Naruto until he was standing a foot away from him. Naruto backed away a few steps wondering if Haku was going to attack him. But Haku's eyes were so dull and lifeless that Naruto became more concerned.

"Naruto. Kill me."

* * *

Kakashi stood still in the mist as he pulled a scroll out of an outside pocket on his vest. As he unraveled the scroll he wiped his thumb along the wound on his chest gathering blood.

'_I need to hurry up. Even though the seal is loosened Naruto can still cause a lot of damage to everyone here.'_ Kakashi thought.

"Why don't we speed this along Zabuza. We're both busy people here. Lets end this already. " He wiped his bloodied thumb along the inside of the scroll and rolled the scroll back up. He performed a few hand signs before slamming the scroll on the ground with a lot of force.

"Ninja Art! Earth Style: Fang Pursuit Jutsu!" Symbols poured out of the sides of the scroll and seemed to infiltrate underneath the concrete.

"I don't understand why you would perform a jutsu when you can't even find me but I can find you. Blindly falling into my trap you disappoint me Kakashi. But you're right let's end this." Zabuza said as he stood still with his eyes still closed. He quickly opened his eyes when the ground beneath him began to shake. Looking down a dog digs out of the ground and bites at his feet but Zabuza quickly lift his foot up, dodging the bite. But more dogs jump out of the ground and dig their fangs into his body holding him still. They were holding him by his legs, arms and a giant dog was hanging on his back while biting into his left shoulder.

"What the hell is that noise?" Tazuna exclaimed as the barks and snarls of the dogs roared through the air.

"I'm not exactly sure I want to know." Sakura whispered in fear.

"You see if I couldn't see you I would have to smell you out. That was a summoning I was calling forth my ninja hounds, they can track a scent anywhere. Earlier I let you get past my guard I wanted you to cut me. It's the scent of my blood on your blade that lead them straight to you. Blindly falling into my trap you disappoint me Zabuza." Kakashi explained tauntingly. As Kakashi spoke the mist started to lift and Kakashi could see Zabuza's hunched over form.

"Ah the mist is finally clearing and you know what I see? Your death."

"Tough talk Kakashi! Do you mean to talk me to death?" Zabuza yelled out in frustration.

"In a way yes. Right now my hounds are just playing with you. One word from me and they will tear you apart. Poor Zabuza see where your ambitions got you. You were always pushing things too far. It began with your failed Mizukage assassination attempt and your plan of coup' de tat. You were forced to leave your country with the few followers you had and your country's tracker ninjas hot on your tail. You became a rogue ninja whose name became known even in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Now you're crazy enough to try it again but to do that you need money. So you stooped so low that you became a hired thug for a swine like Gato. All right Zabuza enough talk its time to finish but it won't be with Sharingan or imitations of some other ninja's trick. No I am going to show you my own jutsu." Kakashi performed a few hand signs and held his right hand in front of him. Chakra gathered in the palm of his hand in the form of electricity; the sparks striking the ground around him in a circle.

"Lightning Blade!"

'_His chakra is so strong that it's visible! He holds it in his hand.' _Zabuza thought in disbelief.

"I won't allow you to kill Tazuna. He's a good man with a noble dream. The bridge he is building is the hope for this land and its entire people. You're like a disease by infecting one you infect all and you don't even care. That is not the way of shinobi."

"That's right I don't care! Why should I care these pathetic people and their stupid little dreams? Why should they matter to me? I have a dream of my own."

"Yes but to have a dream you need to have a future and you don't. Your future is all used up Zabuza."

* * *

"Go on. Why do you hesitate? Kill me." Haku begged Naruto. Naruto shook his head while backing away and clenched his fists.

"That's the craziest thing I have ever heard. I mean he treats you as a slave. You're a human being not some weapon he can toss aside whenever he wants. How can you care about someone like that?" Haku didn't talk for a moment and kept his eyes looking down.

"It's for that very reason. Does it seem that strange to you?" Haku asked.

"Well yeah. A little." Naruto responded.

"Zabuza had given me reason and purpose when he found me but now it is gone. So stop hesitating and kill me. Show me the mighty warrior you wanted to become." Haku taunted at him.

"Do you really believe that that's all there is; fighting and killing until the last man is standing? There is much more to being shinobi than that. And there are other ways to show your strength than beating someone in battle." For a moment both were silent as Haku finally looked Naruto in the eyes with than exhaustion and defeat. He held a sense of satisfaction and content.

"I had a feeling about you ever since we met in the woods. We're a lot alike. I'm sure you understand what I mean. I'm just sorry that it is your hands that must be tainted by my unworthy blood." Haku had been ready for this moment for a long time now and he is ready to face what must come. Naruto was still torn about doing this even though Sasuke and Akina were lying on the ground behind him. He understood Haku's struggles by his own and the feelings he felt.

"You're sure about this? You're positive that this is the only way?" Naruto asked with uncertainty.

"Yes." Naruto looked away from him as he pulled a kunai out of his holster.

"It's strange to think that if we had met at another time and place that maybe we could have been friends." Naruto used his rage and sadness he still felt to propel him forward.

'_Yes Naruto. Hold on tight to your dreams.' _Haku thought as he watched Naruto run towards him before closing his eyes.

"This is for Sasuke and Akina because they also had dreams!" Naruto yelled out, mostly to reassure what he was doing.

'_Thank you Naruto.'_

* * *

"Finally I think this damn fog is lifting." Tazuna remarked.

"Look they're standing still like they're squaring off." Sakura observed and in the distance there were two shadowy figures standing across from each other.

"I still can't see a damn thing." Tazuna said squinting to see who was who.

"Now which one of them is Kakashi-sensei? Wait! One of them is moving." One of the shadow figures moved toward the other figure who was standing completely still.

* * *

Haku stood still waiting for the pain of Naruto's kunai when he felt that something was wrong.

'_Zabuza!'_

Naruto was about to stab him when Haku grabbed his wrist, stopping his attack.

"I'm sorry Naruto but there's been a change in plan." Haku began to perform hand signs using his one free hand.

"Wait! What's going on?" Naruto yelled utterly confused.

"I'm not ready to die yet." Haku said before he disappeared before Naruto's eyes.

* * *

Zabuza watched as Kakashi ran towards him, the lightning in his hand sizzling with energy and for the first time Zabuza feared this was the end for him.

'_Is this really the end?'_

Kakashi raised his lightning blade and striked. He could feel his hand penetrate through the warm cavity of the heart, the blade going through and out the back. Blood immediately rushed out and splattered everything; the ground Kakashi, and the ice mirror. Neither Kakashi nor Zabuza could believe what they were seeing right in front of them. Kakashi was looking straight into the eyes of Haku with his hand penetrating his heart instead of Zabuza's. The dogs that were clamped tightly onto Zabuza disappeared in puffs of smoke, the scroll lying nearby penetrated by Senbon needles. When the Kakashi's attack died down Haku lowered his head and closed his eyes from the pain. His hand clamped onto Kakashi's arm, which was inside of him, like a vice. Kakashi thought he was going to break it. Naruto looked around for Haku and saw three figures not far from him. When he ran towards them he stopped and couldn't believe the sight he was seeing.

"Z-Za..b-bu..za" With his last breath Haku held strong onto Kakashi and allowed death to take him.

"So my future is all used up, huh Kakashi? Looks like you're wrong again. I knew I found a treasure when I found you boy!" Zabuza reached for his sword and brought it around to slice both Kakashi and Haku.

'_He'd cut right through the boy to take me down?' _Kakashi quickly pulled Haku into his arms and back flipped out of the way of Zabuza's attack.

"Not bad for having a corpse in your arms Kakashi." Zabuza taunted without a care that that corpse belonged to his long-time companion. Kakashi ignored him and gently laid Haku's body on the ground as if he was a sleeping child being put to bed. Haku's eyes were wide open but they were glazed over from death. Kakashi did the respectful thing and closed them gently truly revealing how innocent Haku appeared to be.

"You'll pay for that!" Naruto yelled running towards Zabuza.

"No Naruto! This is my fight I'll deal with him." Kakashi said with a hard edge in his voice. Naruto stopped but his anger was still there in his eyes.

"Hey Naruto over here! You guys are all right. Hey what's wrong? Where is Sasuke and Akina anyway!?" Sakura yelled out to Naruto. Naruto was shocked, because he forgot about for a second, and then a tidal wave and guilt and sadness forced him to cringe and look away from her. He couldn't bear to tell her that they were both gone but it seems his reaction gave her his answer instead.

"N-no. It can't be." Sakura whispered. Kakashi had been listening as well and the feelings of guilt and anger washed over him. He was angry with himself for not better protecting the students he had vowed to protect with his life.

"Kakashi! I'd stay focus if I were you." Zabuza yelled as he ran towards him, his sword positioned to strike. Kakashi countered by balancing his weight on his hands and kicked Zabuza in his jaw.

"Let me take you to them Sakura. As long as we stay together you won't be disobeying your sensei's orders." Tazuna said, wanting to give some comfort to this girl.

"T-Thank you Mr. T-Tazuna." Sakura said, her voice trembling. She slipped her hand into Tazuna's and ran past the battle between Kakashi and Zabuza. Both of them past Naruto, who didn't raise his head to look at Sakura, and kept running. Naruto wanted to follow her and give her comfort but he couldn't look at the bodies of his teammates.

As Sakura approached the site she stopped a foot away from them and let out a sob. In the leaf village they hardly saw acts of violence or death and to see her comrades look like this brought Sakura to her knees. Tazuna looked away from the tragic site of young life being taken away too soon. Sakura reached for both Sasuke's and Akina's hand and held them tightly in hers.

"Their hands are so cold. This isn't one of his genjutsu tricks."

"It's ok Sakura. There is no need to be brave in front of me. Go ahead and let your feelings go."

"I was the best. I aced every test at the academy. I was the perfect student. Did you know there are more than 100 principles of shinobi conduct? I memorized all of them. I used to love it when they tested us on them because it gave me a chance to prove how smart I was to everyone. I remember this one exam where they asked us to explain the 25th principle and I got it right of course. A shinobi never shows his feelings no matter what the circumstance is. Feelings are a weakness that only cloud your judgment and sense of duty." The dam of feelings Sakura had holding the entire time she spoke burst open and her cries filled the silence of the mist. Her tears rushing down her face and onto the hands of her teammates She cried out for the boy she wanted to give her heart and soul to and the teammate she had just started to bond with.

'_To put such an immense burden on a young girl's shoulders. If that's the shinobi way you can have it.' _Tazuna thought as tears spilled from his eyes. As Sakura's wails reached Naruto's ears he clutched his chest and tried not to fall on his knees and cry with her.

The loss of his students renewed Kakashi's strength as he easily beat Zabuza around and rendered his left arm useless. Zabuza was kneeling down on his left knee, panting hard, and his right arm was barely able to hold up his sword.

'_Why? Why can't I keep up with him?' _Zabuza thought angered that he was brought to such a state. Kakashi stood across from him standing tall with an air of calmness and he wasn't exhausted as he should have been. Zabuza let out a cry of frustration and ran towards Kakashi to strike him. Kakashi calmly stood there and closed his eyes. When Zabuza came close enough Kakashi raised his fist and backhanded Zabuza across the face. Zabuza gasped out in pain as he was pushed back his sword scraping against the ground like nails on a chalkboard.

"I'll split you in half!" Zabuza yelled out in rage. He swung his sword at Kakashi, who easily dodged the attack, and tried to attack him again but Kakashi disappeared. Zabuza froze when he felt a hand grip the back of his neck.

"Look at you you're falling a part. I knew you didn't have what it takes for the long haul."

"What did you say?"

"You have no idea what real strength is." Kakashi spun two kunai around his fingers before grasping them firmly in his hand.

"Game over Zabuza you lose." Kakashi aimed his kunai straight at Zabuza's last working arm. Zabuza saw what Kakashi was doing and tried to stop him by twisting his sword around to attack him. But Zabuza reacted too slowly. Both kunai tore into his arm forcing him to lose his grip on his sword. Kakashi dodged the sword as it skidded away from them on the ground.

"Now both of your arms are useless you can't even make hand signs. What now Zabuza?" Kakashi remarked at him.

The sound of footsteps cut Zabuza off anything Zabuza was about to say. At the uncompleted end of the bridge stood a small man in business suit with both of his hands resting on a cane.

"Looks like he did quite a number on you eh, Zabuza. You look like yesterday's sashimi. I have to say I'm disappointed." Behind the small man a few dozen thugs, all prepared with weapons and evil intent in their eyes, laughed at his joke.

"Gato? What's the meaning of all this? Why are you here with these thugs?" Zabuza asked completely confused.

'_So this guy is Gato?' _Naruto thought, thinking he would be a little bigger.

"Well you see there has been a slight change of plan. The new plan is that you die right here on this bridge." Gato said with a dark smile.

"What did you say?" Zabuza asked with wide eyes and disbelief, turning his back to Kakashi.

"That's right. You're too expensive so I've decided to take you off the payroll. Even so these thugs that I brought with me did cost me a little something so if you can manage to slaughter a few of them I'd appreciate it. Think you handle this 'Demon of the Hidden Mist'? Ha you look about as demonic as a wet kitten." All of the thugs behind Gato laughed again and Zabuza wished he could his arms to strangle the life out of all of them.

'_There's so many of them. How are we gonna handle them when we could barely handle one rogue ninja.' _Naruto thought.

"Well, well Kakashi. It seems our battle is done. Since I am no longer in Gato's employment Tazuna is safe. We have no quarrel."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Kakashi said with slight apprehension, trying to analyze the best way to get rid of the thugs. Gato stepped forward and stopped in front of Haku's body.

"Oh yeah that reminds me. You nearly broke my arm you little punk and I've been meaning to repay you for that." Gato kicked Haku's face. Naruto gasped in shock and rage at the action.

"Too bad he wasn't alive to feel that." Gato said with no remorse while poking Haku's face with his cane.

"Get away! Get away from him you scum!" Naruto threatened Gato as he ran towards him. Kakashi quickly grabbed a hold of Naruto, before he could pass him, before he got himself killed.

"Stop it Naruto. Use your head." Naruto struggled out of Kakashi's hold and turned to Zabuza, who was still facing Gato.

"Well what about you Zabuza? Are you just going to stand there and let him do that?"

"Be quiet you fool. What does it matter Haku is dead?" There was no emotion in Zabuza's voice and he didn't feel anything at that moment.

"So you can just stand there and watch him get treated like a dog? You and Haku were together for years doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"You don't understand the way of shinobi. I simply used Haku just as Gato used me; his usefulness is over. The loss of his strength and skill meant something to me but the boy is nothing."

"If you really mean that then you're an even bigger rat than I thought!"

"Okay Naruto that's enough. He's not the enemy at the moment." Kakashi trying to diffuse the situation but Naruto continued on in his tirade.

"Shut up! As far as I'm concerned he's still enemy number one! You ungrateful monster. After everything he did for you Haku lived for you. You were the most important thing to him and yet he meant nothing to you at all. While he sacrificed everything he had for you he never asked for anything in return from you. If I became stronger does that mean I'll become as cold hearted as you are? He threw his life away from you and his dream. You never let him have a dream of his own but he didn't care. And you're just going to throw him away like some broken tool; that is just so wrong." Tears were rushing down Naruto's face hallway through his rant. The pity and sadness he felt towards Haku was too much since they both had so much in common.

"You talk too much kid." Naruto looked up at Zabuza and watched as tears fell from his eyes.

"Your words cut deep, deeper than any blade. While he fought you his heart was breaking in two. You see Haku was always too kind and too soft. He felt pain and sorrow and curse him I feel them too. But I feel content that this is the way it ends." Zabuza used his mouth to tear a part the bandages around his face. Everyone was silent as they looked at the face of the 'Demon Mist' ninja.

"Well cat got your tongue? Are you so surprised to find out that I'm human? Even shinobi are human no matter how hard we deny that fact we will always fail. Well at least I have failed. Boy, give me your kunai." Naruto was startled that Zabuza asked him for his kunai but he simply pulled a kunai from his holster.

"Here." Naruto tossed the kunai into the air and Zabuza caught it with his teeth. Images of his travels flashed through his mind as he raced towards Gato.

"Ah! Th-that's enough! Kill him now!" Gato ordered as he pushed his way back to the end of the bridge, where his boat was waiting. The crowd of thugs laughed with glee as they thought that Zabuza wouldn't be able to take any of them down in his condition.

"He's out of his mind. One against all of us? He's just asking to die." One of the men in the front commented but he fell down with his right side cut open a second later. Zabuza passed through them like water passing through two rocks, fast and dangerous. He sliced as many as he could and dodged many of their weapons. But he was greatly overpowered and he grunted in pain as he felt weapons embed themselves in his back. Gato stood at the edge of the bridge waiting for someone to tell him when Zabuza was dead. Gato screamed in fear when Zabuza broke through the last of them and ran straight to him.

"He's-s th-the devil!" Gato cried out. When Zabuza closed the distance he jabbed the kunai as far into Gato's chest as he could. Zabuza lost grip on the kunai, as more weapons were being thrusted into his body. Zabuza stumbled away from Gato but he still stood; Gato was grippingly his would tight, the kunai still inside of him, as blood spilled out of his mouth.

"If you're so eager to join your friend then go ahead but you're not taking me with you."

"Uh-uh. I won't be joining Haku where he has gone I can't follow." Gato jumped in fear as Zabuza looked at him and began to walk towards him. All of the thugs were paralyzed where they stood not wanting to die by the demonic ninja.

"S-stay back." He begged but Zabuza continued to walk to him until they were face-to-face and their noses were almost touching. Zabuza's eyes had a psychotic look in them and when he smiled Gato got a good view at his sharp teeth.

"No my friend it's the other place we're going to. You and me both Gato! I can't think of a more fitting destination for a demon ninja can you? I've heard there are all kinds of demons down there in all shapes and sizes. Oh yes I should fit right in but you on the other hand Gato. I fear you're in for a long and painful eternity!" Zabuza reached down and used his mouth to rip the kunai out of Gato's chest. Gato let out gargled gasps of pain as Zabuza stabbed him a few more times in his chest and finally ended it by slicing his throat. Gato's body tipped backwards and his body fell into the water below. Zabuza let the kunai fall to the ground as he turned around. The thugs all jumped away from him when he looked at them and they made a path for him back to Haku. Zabuza struggled to walk to Haku but the pain of the weapons was getting to him and his vision was getting very blurry. Halfway there his legs gave out on him and Zabuza fell on his knees, his eyes were still on Haku.

"Haku. So this is good-bye at last. Not once did I ever thank you Haku. Please forgive me for that." Zabuza said as he fell on his face. He swore that he saw Haku standing before him in one of his kimonos with a smile on his face. It was silent as everyone looked at Zabuza, the 'Demon of the Hidden Mist', lying on the ground defeated. Naruto turned his eyes away from the site but Kakashi stopped him.

"Don't look away. When you live your life like a warrior this is how it ends." Kakashi simply stared at the scene before him with no emotion in his eyes but underneath that mask he held a respect for the sword master.

* * *

Everything was so dark and his chest ached as if someone had punched him. His hand also felt very warm than the rest of his body and wet for some reason. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times to adjust to the light. He looked at his hand and saw that Sakura was gripping it and crying her eyes out.

"S-Sakura let go o-of my hand." Sakura whipped her head to look at Sasuke's face to see if this wasn't a trick. When she saw his eyes looking at her in confusion and exhaustion she smiled and threw herself on his chest.

"Oh Sasuke! You're alive! Tazuna he's alive!" Sasuke grunted in pain at Sakura's weight on his chest and immediately tried to push her off.

"Sakura stop that hurts." Sakura quickly pulled back but she was still smiling as her tears became joyful. Tazuna looked at him in surprise and wiped a few tears away from his eyes with his tissue.

"Simply amazing." Sakura helped Sasuke sit up since he was struggling and wouldn't have asked her for her help. Sasuke rubbed his head as he tried to remember what happened before he blacked out.

'_Akina!' _Sasuke looked around him and his eyes stopped on Akina who was still in the same position he left her in. Sakura saw his gaze and immediately her joy was pushed aside by sadness. She didn't know what to say to ease the hurt she knows he must be feeling, seeing Akina like that when he was okay.

Sasuke used two fingers and pressed them to Akina's neck, ignoring her cold temperature, and tried to look for a pulse. His eyes hardened and Sakura was scared of what his reaction would be.

'_This must remind him of his family.' _Sakura thought with pity. Sasuke stayed still for a few moments before grabbing Akina's shoulder and roughly shaking it.

"Wake up Akina! Get the hell up now!" Sasuke yelled in her ear.

"Sasuke stop! What are you doing she's- Ah!" Sakura had reached out to stop Sasuke but she squealed in surprise when Akina's hand reached up and covered Sasuke's mouth. Tazuna also yelled put in surprise when Akina suddenly moved her hand. Sasuke immediately stopped as he watched her eyes gently open, only halfway, but it was enough for Sasuke to see that she wasn't gone.

"You're making my headache worse." Akina mumbled barely loud enough for them to heal. Her hand fell down from Sasuke's mouth and she closed her eyes again but Sasuke shook her again to make sure she wouldn't fall asleep on them.

"Oh Akina you're alive! Naruto! Sensei look they're both okay. Sasuke and Akina are alive!" Naruto and Kakashi whipped their heads to look and saw Sasuke and Sakura supporting Akina into a sitting position. Naruto had tears in his eyes again at the sight of teammates alive even though they weren't in the best of shape.

"I'm tired." Akina mumbled as she leaned against Sasuke for support and because her back was aching.

"You're not allowed to sleep with a head wound like that. You have to stay awake." Sasuke explained as he helped Sakura remove the needles from her back and then his body.

"But how?" Naruto but then he remembered what Zabuza said earlier.

'_While he fought you his heart was breaking in two. You see Haku was always too kind and too soft.'_

"Will wonders never cease? Amazing." Kakashi said happy that he didn't lose his students after all.

"Hey! Don't forget about us now." A thug called out, tapping his weapon on the ground. Everyone turned their heads to the rest group of lowlifes they had, momentarily, forgot about.

"Yeah now that Gato is gone who's gonna pay us?" Another asked with murmurs of agreement from others.

"There's no way we're leaving this place empty-handed so I guess we'll just have to hit up that village and see what they got Who's with me?" The rest of them yelled out their agreement and what they planned to do when they reached the village.

"This isn't good." Kakashi said as he tried to think of something he could do.

"Come one Kakashi-sensei you got to have something up your sleeve to beat this bunch of losers." Naruto hoped as he turned to Kakashi.

"I used up to much of my chakra already. I have nothing right now."

"Lets get them boys!" Shouted the guy who spoke up the first time. All of them ran towards the group of ninja with their weapons raised but an arrow appeared from the sky and landed in front of the large group. Everyone turned around towards the area where the arrow came and was met with a good site. All of the men from the village, including Tsunami, had gathered with farming and construction tools as weapons with looks of determination on their faces. Inari stood proudly in front holding a crossbow with a helmet on his head.

"There's one thing you're forgetting about. Before you step one foot in our village you have to go through us!" Shouted the man Akina and Sakura recognized as Giichi. All of the men roared in agreement and the sight of his people gathered together with the spirit of fight, the same one Kaiza had, it brought so much joy to Tazuna's heart.

"They've all come. The whole village."

"Hey Inari!" Naruto called out with happiness.

"Heroes usually show up at the last minute you know!" Inari said with such confidence and happiness the group had never seen before. The group of thugs started to look worried and scared as they compared the number of villagers to their own.

'_There's no way I'm missing out on all the fun!'_ Naruto thought as he performed his usual hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Despite his low chakra Naruto was able to make four clones of himself.

"I think I have enough chakra to help you out. " Kakashi said as he performed the same hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu! Kakashi Style!" About 30 clones of Kakashi appeared and the group of thugs backed away with fear.

"Okay still want to fight?" All of Kakashi's clones asked. All of the thugs ran to Gato's boat while screaming 'No!' or 'No thanks!' They were scrambling over each other to get back on the boat and some even fell into the water.

"Victory!" Inari screamed out and all of the villagers yelled in triumph. As the crowd continued to cheer Kakashi walked over to Zabuza and saw that he was still alive.

"Sounds like it's over." Zabuza said but his voice was weak.

"Yeah it is." Kakashi answered.

"Kakashi can you do me a favor? I want to see him one last time, before I go." Zabuza asked looking into his eyes. Kakashi slid his headband back over his Sharingan and gave him a smile.

"Sure." The cheering died down as everyone watched as Kakashi pulled the weapons out of Zabuza's body and carried him over to Haku. As Kakashi carried him small white flurries fell from the sky.

"It's impossible." One of the villagers said.

"Snow at this time of year?" Said another.

'_Is that you Haku? Are you weeping?' _Zabuza thought as he stared at the snow falling. Kakashi gently set Zabuza down next to Haku.

"Thank you Kakashi." Kakashi didn't respond as he walked back to stand next to Naruto.

"You have always been by my side. The least I can do is be by yours at the end." Zabuza said as he struggled to lift his arm up to Haku's face. He placed his hand on the side of Haku's face, remembering all of the years they had been together.

"I know it cannot be but I wish I could follow you to where you have gone. How I wish I could join you there Haku." Zabuza stopped breathing and hoped that the gods would hear his plea and have mercy on him.

"He told that where he came from it was snowing all of the time." Naruto said as he wiped the tears from his face.

"Of course his spirit was as pure as the snow." Kakashi remarked and it seemed fitting.

"You never know Zabuza maybe you will join him there. Who's to say?"

* * *

**3 days later…**

Team 7 stood in front of two graves, which overlooked the small village below, as the sun began to rise. Zabuza's sword rested against his marker and Haku's sash was wrapped around his. Both markers had flower wreaths Sakura had made that symbolized peace. In the three days since the battle everyone had made a full recovery even though it should have taken Akina a little bit longer for her head to heal.

"Is this it Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked while kneeling in front of the graves.

"What do you mean?"

"Is this the way of the ninja; to use and be used like tools?"

"All shinobi are tools in the hands of destiny. There's no point in wondering if it's right or wrong it just is. It's the same in the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

"Well if you ask me if that's what being a ninja is all about then something's out of order. Is that the reason we go through all of this training to end up like them?" Naruto said turning away from the graves.

"What's the reason for that?" Sasuke asked. Akina didn't have anything to say on this subject because she knew there would never be a justified answer for what they are and what they do.

"Hm. Well, it's a question without an answer and we ninja have to deal with that everyday of our lives. Like Zabuza and the kid." Everyone was silent for a few minutes before Naruto spoke up.

"Okay I've made a decision."

"A decision about what?" Akina asked for all of them.

"From now on I'm gonna find my own ninja way. One that is straight and true without any regrets. From now on I'm following the way of Naruto!" Akina wasn't shocked to hear this coming from him and she laughed with everyone else at Naruto's unwavering optimism for his future.

* * *

**Later that morning…**

Team 7 and the whole village gathered at the completed bridge that will bring much needed assistance to this land.

"We could never have finished the bridge without you. We can't tell you how much we're going to miss you." Tazuna said.

"Please be careful on your way home." Tsunami said with her motherly tone.

"Thank you for everything." Kakashi said.

"Now don't you get all choked up. We'll be back to visit you soon." Naruto said but Inari started to get tears in his eyes.

"You swear you will?" Inari asked trying to hold back his tears that only made Naruto try to hide his.

"You know Inari it's ok to cry if you want. There's nothing wrong with that go for it." Akina was standing next to Naruto and was trying hard not to laugh at their silliness.

"Who said I wanted to cry? If there's nothing wrong then why don't you go ahead and cry?"

"Now you first." Naruto and Inari stared into each other's eyes, waiting for the other to cry first, until Naruto turned around and said, "Forget it!" Both boys cried and Akina couldn't help but smile at them.

'_Boys are so pathetic.'_ Sakura thought unamused. The villagers watched as Team & said their last goodbyes and headed across the bridge.

"It was all his doing. That boy made you stronger Inari and you in turn made us stronger. It was thanks to that boy we were able to build a bridge to a world we have never known. A place where we found our courage. A place where we found our dreams." Tazuna said with respect for the boy he had considered stupid and useless when he first met him.

"Speaking of the bridge shouldn't we name it?" Said Giichi.

"Yes of course. We'll call it 'The Great Naruto Bridge'." This made Tsunami laugh.

"That's a very good name." She said.

"Ah I can't wait to head back to the village and have Iruka buy me some Ichiraku Ramen. Akina you should come too! And just wait to tell Konohamaru about all of my adventures, the kid is going to worship me!" Naruto yelled out.

"Hey Sasuke wanna hang out together when we get back to the village." Sakura asked.

"I don't think so but thanks." He replied.

"Oh okay." Sakura mumbled with rejection.

"Hey Sakura when we get back maybe we can hang out together instead?" Naruto asked desperately.

"What! That was a private conversation Naruto beat it!" Sakura grabbed Naruto by the collar and threw him far away from her.

"Hey sensei how many years are we going be a team together?" Akina asked and Kakashi looked at her with amusement in his eye.

"Who's to say Akina? We could be together for a looong time."

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that." Which only made him laugh.

* * *

**Yes! It is the end of this arc. As always please let me know what you like/dislike and if anything seems to flow wrong I apologize because I try to incorporate new things while trying to keep the story straight. Have a good day! Also next chapter I will probably start from Akina's POV but I will see how that goes.**


	19. Princess

**Hey guys sorry for taking so long again but I had schoolwork to do and I was planning the story out. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and let me know what you guys think!**

* * *

"**Time to wake up princess." **

**The sound of the voice woke me from my world of numb darkness. I opened my eyes and was met with the sun's rays. I closed my eyes and turned my head away from the light, the blades of grass tickling my cheeks and the back of my neck.**

'_**Wait a minute. Why am I lying on grass? There's no grass on the bridge.' **_

**I opened my eyes again and the sight of grass confirmed my suspicions. I was lying in, what appeared to be, a clearing in a forest. I didn't recognize this forest at all and I wasn't even sure **_**where **_**this forest was. **

"**Where the hell am I?" I asked myself as I sat up. Tall trees surrounded the clearing, their branches were so close and thick with leaves that they casted dark shadows over the ground; the light from the sun unable to penetrate through the many layers. I almost felt claustrophobic in the lit clearing. The sky was a beautiful blue, with a few clouds in the sky, and there was a gentle breeze blowing.**

"**Your head." The voice answered. I jumped in surprise, as the voice seemed to ring throughout the clearing. I whipped my head around the clearing for the voice but I saw nothing but the trees and falling leaves. **

'_**Is this voice real at all? Or is this all just inside my head?' **_**I thought. I didn't recognize the voice but I could tell that it was a male by its deep pitch and gravely tone.**

"**What do you mean when you say my head?" I asked, as I stood up, still searching for where the voice was coming from. But the darkness of the leaves made it impossible to see beyond a couple of feet so whoever was here was well concealed.**

"**I mean what I said. This forest is inside your head." The voice replied with an amused tone. I still couldn't tell where the voice was coming from it seemed to come from every direction.**

'_**This is getting really weird.' **_**I thought.**

"**Who are you and why do I have a forest inside my head?" I demanded because I was still very confused.**

"**This forest is a safe place that anyone of Yukito blood has. It's your escape from reality that no one else can penetrate unless you allow them in." I huffed in slight annoyance because he only answered half of my question and I still didn't know how I got here.**

"**So how did I get here then? The last thing I remember is fighting someone on a bridge and everything is fuzzy after that."**

"**I brought you here so I could help you." I furrowed my eyebrows in thought as I crossed my arms over my chest.**

"**Help me with what exactly?" I asked.**

"**The reason why your memory is fuzzy is because the boy with ice powers threw you against one of his mirrors and you hit your head pretty hard. Right now I'm making sure that you don't have any internal bleeding or swelling." I reached up to touch the back of my head but I didn't feel any blood in my hair and my head didn't hurt either. I looked down at my body and realized that I didn't have any Senbon imbedded in me and all of the cuts were gone.**

"**You won't see your injuries here since they are only physical." The voice answered for me.**

"**How come I've never heard of this place before? Why did you choose now to talk to me? Unless you're somehow my inner voice which is weird since you sound like a guy." The voice let out a laugh loud enough to shake the trees, making some of the leaves fall. **

"**I'm not your inner voice so don't worry. I am just here to make sure that you're okay."**

"**But why are you here in the first place? And what do you know about my family?" The voice didn't answer for a few moments, as if he was considering how to word his answer. **

"**So many questions and yet not enough time Akina. You need to go back now." I gasped out in shock at his answer.**

"**No way! I just got here and I still don't know who you are or at least what you're name is!" I screamed out in frustration. Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew through the clearing sending a whirlwind of leaves to wrap around me like a cocoon. The voice spoke again but it was so muffled from the wind that I could barely hear him. **

"**Don't worry Akina we will meet again."**

* * *

I woke up slightly startled, my hands clutching my comforter and pillow in a vice grip, and my breathing was harder than it should be. I continued to lye in my bed, staring at the wall, while trying to figure out my memory.

'_Who was that guy? I still don't understand what exactly that forest is and why I'm only seeing it for the first time now.'_

Sadly the only the only people who could answer my questions were gone and couldn't speak from beyond the grave. I rolled onto my back and turned to look at my alarm clock that sat on the nightstand. I squinted my eyes as the faint light came through my window momentarily blinding me.

"Awesome, it's only 6:30." I said, my voice sluggish from being so tired. I sighed as I slowly got up in a sitting position and tried to wipe the sleep out of my eyes. I grabbed a hair tie off of my nightstand, since I didn't bother with it last night, and tied my tangled hair in a bun. Pushing the comforter off my legs I lowered my feet onto the, slightly cold, wooden floor and sleepily trudged over to my desk. All of the furniture in my room was made of a dark mahogany wood that contrasted nicely with the light green wall paint; that had been painted before I arrived. I had a desk that sat under the window, nightstand next to my bed, a dresser with a mirror above it that near to my door, and a decent sized closet. I didn't bring a lot of things from my place in the Hidden Mist to decorate with: only pictures of my family and some gifts from the few people I called friends. Art materials and ninja gear covered most of the desk along with unfinished sketches I had been putting off for a while. I grabbed my black hoodie from the chair and put it on over my white tank top. It was a little big on me, it almost went past my black shorts, but that was how I liked to wear my sweatshirts. I walked out of my room and went into the kitchen to get something to eat since I wouldn't be going back to bed anytime soon. I went into the freezer and grabbed a package of sausage and some eggs out of the fridge. I also grabbed some red potatoes out of one of the cabinets and got to work. The Third Hokage really gave me everything that I could need: pans, bowls, utensils, pots, and more. As I cooked I tried to not think of anything but my mind still drifted back to the dream.

'_I wonder if I can find anything in the scrolls that the Third gave me. Maybe they will give me a better understanding of what happened.' _

The smell of sizzling sausage, scrambled eggs, and cooked potatoes dragged me away from my thoughts. My stomach began to growl as I put the food on a plate and sat at my kitchen table. As I was about to put a piece of potato in my mouth a knock came from my front door. I quietly groaned at the intrusion but nonetheless got up and looked through the peephole. A sleepy Naruto stood outside my door, still in his pajamas, with something in his hand. I opened the door with confusion written over my face and leaned against the doorway.

"What are you doing here this early Naruto?"

"I ran out of milk again." He said groggily as he lifted his hand and I saw that he was carrying a box of cereal. I simply shook my head and moved to the side so he could come in.

"You're just in time. I made myself some breakfast and I have some leftovers, so you can help me finish that." As he followed me into the kitchen I could tell that the smell of food was waking him up by the bright smile on his face and the excitement in his eyes.

"This is awesome Akina. Man am I glad you live down the street from me." He said as he sat down across from me with a plate in hand.

"Nice to know you only like me for my food." I with a serious tone, only joking, as I ate my food but he thought I was serious and quickly tried to apologize. Which only made him choke on his food.

"Calm down Naruto I was only joking with you. Don't die on me please." I said with a smile while putting a glass of water down in front of him but when I said the last sentence I saw a dark look pass over Naruto's expression.

"What's wrong Naruto?" I asked confused. Then I remembered how he had been a little different ever since we came back from the Land of Waves mission a few weeks ago. When we got back Naruto had hovered over me like I ready to drop at any minute since I had to take it easy because of my head injury. When the doctors, at Konoha's hospital, checked me out they said that there wasn't any permanent damage or bleeding but I would be prone to dizzy spells and would be exhausted quicker than normal. It only lasted for two weeks, luckily, but during those two weeks Naruto constantly asked me if I was feeling okay, did I need to sit down, and he even slept on my couch a few times because I had felt tired during some of the missions. Last week when I went for a checkup they said that I was okay and that I should be back at full strength in a few days. Naruto had backed off slightly after that but I knew he was still concerned deep down.

"I-it's nothing." He said quietly without looking me in the eye, his fork was playing with his potatoes.

"It's about the Land of Waves mission isn't it?" He looked at me in surprise and as I was about to say something to comfort him he cut me off.

"Don't say that what happened has happened and we should move on! How could I move past the fact that you almost died that day Akina? It was really scary to see you lying in your own pool of blood and you were so cold. I was really scared that I was losing the one person who really cared for me. I mean before you came here no one attempted to even look at me. I was left alone for so long and then you came here and accepted me for everything without questioning it. You even accepted the fact that I hold the Nine-Tails inside of me and defended me despite it. So I'm always worried that one day you'll be too hurt to recover."

We didn't say anything for a moment; I understood how Naruto felt. I have felt the pain of seeing someone you love dearly die in front of you and you can't save him or her at all. You feel useless and weak. I reached over the table and grabbed Naruto's hand and held it tight. He looked up in my eyes with so much sadness and hurt, his eyes were slightly pink from holding back tears.

"I understand what you mean Naruto. I'm sorry I caused you to feel that way and I promise that I will try my best to not get hurt anymore. But understand that we are trying to become ninjas Naruto. There will be times where I will get hurt, whether they be minor or major, and as we rise up in ranks we have a higher chance of death. I know this probably sounds like the worse cheer up speech but I won't sugarcoat anything for you because you mean too much to me for me to lie to you. But I will try to keep my promise to you Naruto because I have to watch you become Hokage one day and I still have my dream to become an ANBU Captain like my mom. So stop worrying and enjoy your breakfast okay."

"I'm sorry Akina I-" Naruto stopped when he saw me shaking my head with a smile.

"It's okay Naruto. There's no need to apologize for caring about someone." He smiled at my words and continued to eat his food.

* * *

**Later at the bridge...**

The sun bore down on us as we all waited around for Kakashi-sensei. I was sitting down, leaning against the railing, relaxing with my hands behind my head. Naruto was standing to my left his eyes not wavering from Sasuke, who stood across from him leaning against the railing with his arms resting on top of it. He had been ignoring Naruto's glare since he arrived by closing his eyes and facing his head away from Naruto. Sakura stood next to Sasuke quietly, after failing to get him to talk, with a slightly worried and annoyed look in her eyes. Since we came back from the Land of Waves there was a lot of tension between Naruto and Sasuke and their attitudes haven't improved at all. I heard Naruto sigh as he sat down next to me with his arms crossed, annoyance written all over his face.

"Why can't Kakashi-sensei ever be on time? We always have to wait hours before he decides to show up." Naruto complained.

"You should be used to this by now Naruto. Kakashi-sensei never shows up on time unless it's for something very important." I answered without opening my eyes.

"Good morning everyone! Sorry I'm late I seem to have gotten lost in the path of life." Kakashi said as he appeared on one of the beams that hovered over the bridge.

"It's about time!" Naruto and Sakura yelled out. Naruto ran to Kakashi just as he jumped down from the beam.

"I'm ready for the next mission Kakashi-sensei! And I don't want anymore of these baby missions I want a real mission! One where I can show off what I'm made of!" I slightly laughed at Kakashi's slightly scared expression from Naruto's energy.

"Uh…that's nice Naruto. How about you calm down for a sec." Kakashi had his hands raised up in surrender as Naruto turned around to glare at Sasuke again. Sasuke noticed but only stared unemotionally at Naruto while Sakura became irritated at Naruto's action. I could see the image in Naruto's head of him saving Sasuke on the next mission instead of it being the other way around.

"Oh yeah believe it!" Naruto suddenly yelled out with determination.

"Alright Naruto let us know when you're done fantasizing so we can start the mission." Kakashi said with slight annoyance.

"Alright sensei! I'm ready!"

"Why do you have to be so annoying Naruto?" Sakura asked irritated.

* * *

Our first mission of the day was to pick weeds in a women's garden. She had her garden lined up against her three walls of fence and the back of her house; so we decided that we would do each one individually. Naruto was at the back of the house, Sakura was to his right, Sasuke was to his left, and I took the back wall. It was silent as we worked for about 30 minutes until I felt something brush against my arm. I turned around and saw that not only did Naruto pick the weeds but he also, unknowingly, picked her plants. The woman cam outside and saw the large pile of weeds and plants and became angry.

"Hey you!" The woman called out to Naruto. He turned around to face her with an accomplished smile on his face.

"Oh hey lady. I picked out all the weeds for ya." His expression turned into confusion when her expression didn't change from anger.

"Uh what's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"You picked out all the weeds but you also pulled out all of my plants."

"What?"

"Those were special herbs I had been growing and you destroyed them!" The woman proceeded to beat Naruto up for ruining her plants while the rest of us sighed at his stupidity.

* * *

After apologizing to the woman over and over again, Naruto had received a black eye as a reminder, the next mission we had was to clean up the river. We all had baskets on our back to hold the trash and long tongs to pick the trash out of the river. Kakashi was lying on the shore reading one of his _Icha Icha Paradise_ stories. I was placing a can in my basket when I heard a splash and Naruto yell out in surprise.

"Naruto?" I shouted as I watched him be carried down river towards the tall waterfall. Sasuke and I raced forward; Sasuke pulled out his cable, and threw it to me. I grabbed on tight as he went over the edge and grabbed on to Naruto's feet. Naruto stopped screaming a few seconds after he realized he was no longer falling. I could see he was highly annoyed that Sasuke saved him, which made me roll me eyes in annoyance.

"You are such a loser." Sasuke said adding fuel to the fire.

* * *

We were in the forest to complete our next mission, which was to walk a few dogs from a local shelter. Sakura picked a Chihuahua, Sasuke had a Dachshund, I picked a Shiba Inu, and Naruto picked the largest dog they had a Rottweiler. Sasuke, Sakura, and I watched as the dog dragged Naruto towards an old mine field. Kakashi was sitting in a tree nearby still reading his book, not paying attention at all.

"He is such a loser." Sasuke said with annoyance.

"Ugh he just had to pick the biggest dog didn't he?" Sakura shouted with more annoyance. By this point even I was slightly tired with watching Naruto make things harder for himself but he has to learn somehow.

"Wait stop! You're not supposed to go in there that's a mine field!" Naruto yelled but it was too late. Grass and dirt flew up in the air as mines were set off, Naruto's screams of pain heard over the sound of the explosions. I watched with shock as the dog was entirely unharmed by the explosions and yet Naruto was sitting on the ground looking completely fried.

I heard Sasuke and Sakura sigh from beside me and I only stood there and shook my head.

* * *

Once we returned the dogs to the shelter Sasuke and I had to help Naruto walk around, one of his arms wrapped over our neck, since he hurt himself all day.

"Look at yourself Naruto. You're hopeless." Sakura said as she walked beside us.

"Hmph, you really are just one big problem." Sasuke taunted. Naruto suddenly withdrew his arm from around my neck, pushing me away, and turned to Sasuke ready to fight. Sakura put her hand in front of Naruto, distracting him from Sasuke, with her right fist raised.

"That's enough I've had it with you! Keep this up and I'll finish you myself." Sasuke took this chance to begin walking away.

"Guess we're not making a lot of progress on the teamwork thing huh." Kakashi said with a groan.

"Yeah our teamwork is all messed up because of you Sasuke! You think you're better than everybody!" Naruto yelled out pointing to Sasuke's back.

"Not everyone just you. Face it. I'm stronger and better than you. It's a fact." Sasuke said as he kept walking. He stopped and turned to look Naruto in the eye.

"Unless you have what it takes to prove me wrong?" The silence was tense as Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other with anger and annoyance.

'_They are getting worse and worse everyday. What's going on between these two to make it this intense?' _I thought with worry. I looked over at Kakashi to see his expression but he was looking at the sky. I looked up when I heard a hawk cry out seeming to circle over us before flying somewhere else.

"Alright guys lets call it a day. You can beat each other to a pulp some other time. I have to go file my report on this mission." Kakashi explained then poofed away.

"Whatever I'm out of here." Sasuke said as he began to walk away.

"Wait Sasuke I'll come with you!" Sakura yelled out as she ran after Sasuke. I watched as Naruto's face turn into disappointment as he watched Sakura run away. I walked towards him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about her Naruto. How about we go do some training together and then get something to eat."

"Okay! You can help me with my taijutsu! Then we can go to your house and you can make some of that Chicken Yakisoba again." Naruto squealed with delight.

"Okay just have to go to the market after training." I said. Then I noticed a strange box, painted to look like a rock with 2 eyeholes on the front, creeping behind Naruto.

'_That is the worst disguise I've ever seen.'_

Naruto turned around when he saw my confused expression and looked at the box with the same amount of confusion I had. I watched as Naruto walked forward and saw that the box followed right behind him. Naruto ran back and forth as fast as he could, with the box right behind them, I had stop watching because it was giving me a slight headache. Naruto finally stopped running and turned to face the box while pointing at it.

"That's the worst disguise of all time it's completely obvious! There's no such thing as square rocks!"

"Very slick boss you saw right through my disguise again. Just what I expect from my greatest rival!" A muffled voice called out. The box began to radiate a bright light before exploding in colorful clouds of smoke. Once the smoke cleared I saw three children on the hands and knees coughing from the smoke they used.

'_Who are these kids?'_ I thought as I tried to remember if I ever met them before.

"I think we used a little too much gunpowder you guys." The one in the middle said. He had spikey brown hair, wore a bright yellow t-shirt with a very long navy scarf wrapped around his neck, grey shorts, blue ninja sandals, and he had the same goggles Naruto used to wear on his forehead. When they realized Naruto and I were staring at them they gave us a staged introduction.

"I'm Moegi, the sassiest kunoichi in pre-school. Check me out." She had bright orange hair in two pigtails, a maroon shirt that seemed to have a cape attached to it over a light pink shirt, tan shirts, blue ninja sandals, and she also had the goggles on her forehead.

"I love algebra! Call me Udon." He had straight brown hair, large circular-framed glasses, a long-sleeved navy shirt, tan shorts, blue ninja sandals, and he had the goggles on his forehead too.

"And I'm the number one ninja in the village, Konohamaru! And when we're all together we're The Konohamaru Ninja Squad!" All three yelled the last part out together. Now I remembered who they were.

'_It's the kids Naruto always talks about, his little gang of followers.'_

"Yeah yeah I knew it was you Konohamaru. What are the goggles for?"

"Well you used to wear goggles so we're copying you." Konohamaru yelled out proudly but Naruto wasn't impressed.

"Hey you should be more excited boss." Konohamaru yelled out.

"So…did you guys want something?" Naruto asked in a bored tone.

"He's just trying to be cool." Konohamaru tried to whisper to his friends.

"You know what we want. Are you busy right now?" Moegi asked.

"Yeah Akina and I have some training to do."

"What! But you promised us you would play ninja with us today." I couldn't help but laugh at this a little; a ninja playing ninja was funny even if he was trying to amuse a group of kids.

"A ninja playing ninja? That is so twisted." We all looked over to see a depressed Sakura sulking towards us, her eyes directed towards Naruto.

'_Seems like Sasuke rejected her pretty bad this time. Must have said something insulting that involved Naruto by the way she's glaring at him.'_ I thought as I looked at Naruto. Judging by the redness in his face, he didn't pay attention to why Sakura was looking at him, he only cared that she was looking at only him. Naruto began to laugh for no reason but I could tell it was because he was so nervous.

"Hey boss who is that girl anyway?"

"That's Sakura she's our teammate." The children looked at me with the expression of 'Oh..' and I thought I saw Udon blushing a little bit but I got distracted by Konohamaru talking to Naruto.

"Hey boss is that your…girlfriend?" Sakura looked like she was ready for murder while Naruto went completely red in face.

"Well you can tell she's really crazy about me." Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head.

"That's it!" Sakura punched Naruto in the face, sending him flying into a nearby fence. Fortunately for me I moved out the way just in time. Sakura panted as a green aura of anger surrounded her whole body.

'_If Sakura has all of this strength inside of her I wonder why she doesn't excel at taijutsu.' _I thought as I went over to check how Naruto was. His eyes were closed and I could see a bruise already forming on his left cheek. I shook his shoulder but he didn't respond or move at all. Udon and Moegi came to my side and tried to call out for him.

"Don't you think you went a little overboard Sakura?" I asked.

"What kind of girlfriend are you?!" Konohamaru shouted at Sakura.

"He deserved it!" Sakura yelled out, her green aura gone.

"You're a witch and you're ugly too!" Everyone was silent for a moment until the cracking of knuckles broke it. Konohamaru started to sweat before screaming out fear as Sakura attacked him. Within a few minutes Konohamaru was lying on the ground next to Naruto complete with a few bruises and a bump on his head. Sakura walked away with a satisfied expression on her face just as Naruto and Konohamaru woke up.

"What happened Akina?" Naruto asked quietly while rubbing the bump he received from hitting the fence.

"You pissed off Sakura worse than usual." I answered as I helped him to his feet.

"That girl isn't human." Konohamaru mumbled as Moegi and Udon helped him up.

"Are you okay Konohamaru?" Moegi asked, worry and fear in her eyes.

"Yeah I'm okay but did you see how big her foreh-" Konohamaru's sentence was cut off when I appeared behind him and clamped my hand over his mouth. Sakura had stopped and, almost like a robot, she turned around with the promise of violence in her eyes.

"What did you say about my forehead?"

"He didn't say anything about your forehead Sakura. He was just saying how, uh, big your forearm muscles are." That was the worst lie ever but it looked like she was going to let it slide.

"That's what I thought he said." Sakura answered and continued walking. I let out a sigh of release; Konohamaru would live to see another day. Something wet went across my palm, forcing me to lose control of Konohamaru's mouth.

"I said your forehead is huge!" Konohamaru yelled out. Sakura stopped and whipped her head around to glare at Konohamaru.

"I suggest you run now Konohamaru." I said after wiping his spit on his scarf.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as always review or comment if you want and I'm sorry if there's any grammer mistakes. Have a good day!**


	20. Quality Time

**Hey everybody! I am back with a new chapter and I am working on the next one soon. I would like to say thank you for all of the lovely reviews I have received on this story so far and to all of the story followers/favorites. But I would like to warn those who are writing guest reviews to actually make them about them about my story and not something like this that I received not too long ago:**

Gogu:I'm the best f*** the I have a nice D*** and b*** keep on sucking it!

**I do not appreciate seeing this in my inbox so if you're gonna write something like this please don't bother and go find something to do with your life, whoever you may be. Thank you for listening and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Why do you waste your time with them?" I turned around and standing against the fence in his usual stance, hands in his pockets, was Sasuke Uchiha.

"They're our teammates Sasuke. We should all spend time together so we can try to fix our teamwork." I said as I wiped some dirt off of my shirt. He scoffed in annoyance and began to walk towards me.

"Those two are only holding us back. What's the point in trying to work with them?" Sasuke asked. I cocked my head slightly in confusion, as I looked him in the eyes. There was something in his voice that sounded more than just his usual condescending tone but I couldn't place my finger on it.

"A team is only as strong as its weakest member. So it should be up to us, the stronger members, to build them up and make them stronger." I answered before walking in the direction Naruto and the kids ran off to. I didn't hear a response from Sasuke but I felt his presence as he walked in step with me.

"That would only take up the time we could be using for training ourselves."

"Yes but being in a team isn't always about the individuals it's also about the team as a whole. If you only have half of the members at the same level and the other half at a lower level then the stronger members have to pull not only their weight but also the weaker member's weight as well. Resulting in a lower missions success rate. But if everyone in the team are at an equal level then they are all not only pulling their own weight they are also more likely to have a higher mission success rate. So that's why I spend my time with them." Sasuke was silent for the next few moments as he pondered what I told him. As we were about to walk around a corner I halted, while also putting my arm out in front of Sasuke; making him look at me in surprise. Using my eyes I motioned towards the scene we almost walked in on. Konohamaru was hanging over a foot above the ground by his scarf. The guy holding him wore black attire, a black on his head that had cat ears, a large object wrapped in white bandages hung on his back, and he wore purple face paint in a warlike fashion. On his cat hat stood his village's symbol, an hourglass with a rectangle above it.

'_What are sand village ninja doing here?'_ I thought as I noticed the girl behind him. She was obviously older than us by a few years, she had dirty blond hair that was separated into four ponytails, she wore a light purple dress with a red sash around her waist, and her Sand village headband was around her neck just like mine. On her back I could see some kind of large black object but I wasn't sure of what it was. Both Naruto and Sakura, along with Moegi and Udon, stood across from the two foreign ninja with hesitation and a little bit of fear.

"What are sand village ninja doing here?" Sasuke whispered.

"Lets find out." I said and I looked around for a good spot to get closer. To the left of us stood a tall tree that overlooked the little scene and would provide us with good cover. I motioned towards the tree and Sasuke nodded in understanding. Silently we climbed over the fence, lowering our chakra as well, and used the tree climbing techniques, we learned from Kakashi, to station on one of the branches. From here the foreigners stood towards the left of us and Naruto and the others were to our right. Sasuke stood next to the trunk of the tree, his right side leaning against it, with his hands in his pockets while I sat down next to him but not too close.

"You better take your hands off of Konohamaru right now!" Naruto yelled out in anger. The cat guy wasn't scared or intimidated by Naruto at all.

"Just put him down Kankuro. You know you'll get in trouble for it later." The blond-haired girl scolded.

"We still have a few minutes before he gets here let's mess with these punks for a little bit." Kankuro answered with amusement.

"Let go of me you jerk!" Konohamaru yelled at him while trying to use all of his energy to kick him but they weren't effective at all.

"You're feisty but not for long." Kankuro teased as he gripped Konohamaru's scarf tighter.

"I told you to put him down!" Naruto yelled as he charged towards Kankuro. I noticed Kankuro move the fingers in his left hand and suddenly Naruto fell back and landed on his butt. I scrunched my eyes in confusion.

'_How could Naruto suddenly fall back when he was running forwards? Did Kankuro somehow manipulate Naruto's movement?'_ I looked at Sasuke and he seemed just as confused as I was.

"So you're a leaf genin too. It seems like your village is full of wimps." Kankuro mocked while Naruto stood up. Kankuro tightened his hold on Konohamaru's scarf.

"Hey put me down! That hurts!" Konohamaru yelled out his face scrunched in pain.

"That's it put him down or I'll tear you apart!" Naruto threatened but Sakura put him in a headlock, before he could do anything, while scolding him.

"You're annoying all of you. I don't like runts or any type of weakling so when a punk like you starts shooting off his mouth. I just want to break him in half." Kankuro warned, successfully making Naruto and Sakura fearful of him. Both Moegi and Udon had tears running down their faces from fear of what would happen to Konohamaru. I stood up on the branch and was prepared to intervene but Sasuke grabbed to my arm, stopping me from moving. I looked at him confused on why he stopped me but he only shook his head and held up a rock the size of a pebble. He must have collected one when I was paying attention to what was going down below us.

'_How is a rock supposed to help us?' _Seeming to understand my confusion he only motioned towards Kankuro who was preparing to punch Konohamaru on the face. Letting go of my arm Sasuke threw the rock directly at Kankuro's right wrist, freeing Konohamaru from his grip. Judging by the pain on Kankuro's face I could tell that Sasuke had added some chakra to his throw to give it more of an effect.

"What the hell." Kankuro spat before he looked up, along with everyone else.

"You're a long way from home and you're way out of your league." Sasuke taunted, as he stood tall, his usual brooding expression on his face, with one hand in his pocket and the other continuously tossed the second pebble, which I didn't notice he had, in the air.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled out with hearts in her eyes. I saw that even the blond-haired girl was taken back by Sasuke's looks, judging from the blush on her face. It was amusing to watch but I didn't let that show on my face. I had folded my arms across my chest and I had set my expression neutral to give the appearance that I was strong and not to be messed with.

"Naruto!" Konohamaru yelled out in relief as he ran back towards his friends.

"Just great another wimp to piss me off." Kankuro muttered but we could still hear him.

Sasuke held the rock in his hand and, using chakra, crushed it. He opened his palm to let the dust slide through his fingers.

"Get lost."

Sakura, Moegi, and Udon all had stars in their eyes and adoration for Sasuke while Naruto stood there looking down and playing with his fingers in a Hinata-like fashion.

"How come you're not cool like that?" Konohamaru asked Naruto.

"What are you talking about Konohamaru? I could have taken that guy out in two seconds flat." But Konohamaru seemed to have lost his respect for Naruto by that point.

"Hey punk! Why don't you get down here? You're the kind of snot I hate the most, all attitude with nothing to back it up." Kankuro said as he took the object off of his back and put it on the ground.

"What? Are you really going to use the crow for this?" The girl asked with shock on her face but Kankuro's expression was dead serious.

"_What does he have in there that has her this worried?'_ I thought as we waited for his next move.

"Kankuro. Back off."

My muscles went stiff as I realized that the mysterious voice was closer than what I expected. On the other side of the tree trunk was a young red haired boy, who seemed to be our age, and he was hanging upside down using chakra. I looked at Sasuke and saw that he was just as shocked as I was; we both had no idea he was even there.

'_Where the hell did he come from? The only people who could be that silent and unnoticeable are shinobi of Kakashi's level, maybe even higher.' _I thought as I continued to examine him. He wore a brown outfit with a white scarf wrapped from his right shoulder to his left hip. On his back was a large gourd that seemed to be almost bigger than him and on the strap of it was the Sand village's headband. But the thing that set off warning bells were his eyes. They were an ocean green color but they seemed to hold no life in them and the bags under his eyes showed how little sleep this guy was getting if he was getting any at all. On the left side of his forehead was a red tattoo of the word 'love' in kanji.

"H-Hey Gaara." Kankuro answered nervously.

"You're an embarrassment to our village. Did you forget the reason we traveled all of the way here?" Gaara asked with no emotion at all.

"I know I know but th-they started the whole thing. See here's what happened-"

"Shut up. Or I will kill you." Gaara interrupted. I could feel the hair on my arms and the back of my neck raise up, the feeling to hide rising. Strange how this boy could make me want to run yet when we faced Zabuza the Silent Killer, I didn't feel much at all.

"Uh, right s-sorry Gaara I was totally out of line." Kankuro mumbled raising his hands in surrender, even the girl behind him raised her arms up even though Gaara hasn't even looked at her. Those dead eyes turned towards Sasuke and I, both of our bodies tensing up in caution.

"I'm sorry for any trouble he's caused." We didn't say anything but I nodded my head in acceptance. Suddenly Gaara transformed into sand and reappeared when the sand gathered on the ground.

"Let's go we didn't come here to play games." Gaara ordered and both Kankuro and the girl followed behind him. Sakura rushed from the group and ordered the three sand shinobi to stop.

"What?" The older girl asked in annoyance as they stopped without turning around.

"I can tell from your headband that you're from the Village Hidden in the Sand. Of course the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allies but no shinobi can enter another's village without permission. So what's your purpose here?" Sakura asked, confident in her knowledge.

"Have you guys been living under a rock? Or maybe you really don't know what's going on. We have permission see." The girl said, smiling at our lack of information, as she held up a pass.

'_So her name is Temari.'_ I noted looking at her pass.

"You are correct, we are Hidden Sand genin from the Land of Wind. We're here to take the chunin exam."

"Chunin Exam? What's that? I've never heard of any chunin exam, believe it." Naruto stated.

"Oh I believe it alright. You are totally clueless." Temari said amused.

"Hey boss that's the exam every genin must take to become a full fledged chunin." Konohamaru answered for him.

"Oh well why didn't you just say so? I'm totally there." Naruto stated with excitement. Gaara took this as his cue to go with Kankuro and Temari right behind him.

"Wait." Sasuke demanded as he jumped down from the branch.

"Who you mean me?" Temari asked with a sweet voice as she turned around with a smile on her face.

"No him, the one with the gourd on his back." Sasuke said pointing to Gaara. Gaara stopped and turned around to face Sasuke.

"I am Gaara of the Desert. I'm curious about you as well. Who are you?"

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke stated with a smirk on his face. I could practically feel his excitement from the tree about having a strong opponent.

"Hi! I bet you're dying to know my name right?" Naruto shouted.

"I couldn't care less." Gaara admitted. Then he turned around and continued walking. When he was out of sight I could feel my body completely relax and the hair on my arms went down. I jumped down from the tree and walked towards Konohamaru, who was trying to soothe Naruto's self-esteem.

"Hey Konohamaru are you alright?" I asked and he looked at me with confusion before he puffed out his chest and smiled.

"Don't worry about me Akina I'm tough. I can face anything and come out just fine." This display of machoness was cute on him but as I bent down to get closer to his level I could see a bit of a blush adorn his cheeks.

"Let me check just to make sure ok?" I asked and he nervously nodded his head. He unwrapped his scarf for me and I couldn't see light bruises around his neck area but nothing too serious.

"Yup you are totally unscathed." I said with awe and he smiled.

"Hey Akina can we eat now?" Naruto asked as he rubbed his stomach. I shook my head him but I couldn't help but smile at him.

"Sure lets go to the market. Would you guys like to join us?" I asked looking at Sakura and Sasuke, Naruto giving me a traitorous look.

"I don't think I can I-"

"Sure." Sasuke agreed. We all looked at him surprised. I recovered from my moment of shock first and started the walk to the market with Sasuke behind me. Naruto caught up to us moments later.

"You know what today is perfect I have nothing planned for today anyway!" Sakura said as she ran to join us.

* * *

**No One's POV**

Many jonin and chunin were gathered in a large meeting room, ready to begin the meeting. The Hokage sat at a desk, which held his seeing mirror, the main focal point of the room.

"It is time to choose the candidates for the Chunin Examination. Will all of the jonin in charge of the rookie genin step forward."

Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai stepped forward in front of the Hokage.

"Kakashi, Kureni, and Asuma what is your decision? Is there any in your squad who you feel are ready to take the Chunin Exam despite their inexperience? As you know any genin who has carried out eight or more missions are technically eligible to take the exam. Beyond that only you can decide when they are ready. Of course most genin usually need longer training periods and almost double the amount of missions before they are ready.

'_There's no need to say all of this. They're not ready yet.' _Iruka thought as he waited for the three sensei's decision.

"Kakashi you may begin." The Hokage started.

"I lead squad 7. Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Akina Yukito. I Kakashi Hatake recommend all four genin for the Chunin Exam."

Iruka almost stopped breathing. All four of them?

"I lead squad 8. Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. And now I Kurenai Yuhi recommend all three genin for the Chunin Exam."

"And I lead squad 10. Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara. And I Asuma Sarutobi recommend all three genin for the Chunin Exam."

Many of the other shinobi couldn't believe what they were hearing.

_All ten rookie genin were nominated?_

_Are they serious?_

_They're gonna get those kids killed._

Iruka couldn't stay silent any longer.

"Now hold on just a minute!"

"Yes Iruka, what is it?" The Hokage asked calmly.

"With all due respect Lord Hokage, the ten names that were just given were all my students at the academy. Even though I cannot speak entirely about Akina's abilities I do know them. They all have great potential to be great shinobi but they need more experience before they are tested. If they try now they are sure to fail the exam."

"When I became a chunin I was six years younger than Naruto is now." Kakashi stated, irritated by the delay.

"Naruto is nothing like you!" Iruka shouted angry as he walked towards him. "Are you trying to destroy him?"

"Well he's complaining that they're not being challenged enough so maybe wiping out on the exam will teach them a lesson. A little pain is good."

"Wha-What did you say?" Iruka asked in disbelief.

"Oh nothing too serious or fatal of course. But seriously Iruka, relax. Listen I understand how you feel this is very personal for you and it upsets you but-"

"Alright Kakashi back off. You've said enough." Kurenai intervened, ready to get this meeting over with.

"On the contrary Kurenai Iruka needs to hear this. He needs to understand that they're not his students anymore. They're mine." Kakashi said with a hard edge in his voice.

"But these exams could destroy them you know that-"

"Iruka." Lord Hokage said silencing Iruka. "You have made your point and I understand."

"Lord Hokage." Iruka said much more calm than before.

"Accordingly I have decided the best thing to do is to hold a special preliminary test."

"A preliminary test?" Iruka said confused. They had never had a preliminary test before.

* * *

**Akina's POV**

It was around 12 in the afternoon and we have been waiting for Kakashi-sensei for about three hours. I was lying on my back, my arms behind my head, on top of one of the archways on the bridge, my left leg dangling in the air. I was enjoying the light breeze and the warm sun until Sakura interrupted the peace.

"Why?! Why?! Why?! It's always the same. He sets a time and we have to wait hours for him!" She sounded like a broken record. She's been complaining about Kakashi-sensei's timing ever since we became a team and it was starting to get old. It wouldn't help that Naruto would usually join in and encourage her ranting.

"What about my feelings?! I have to rush to get here that I didn't even have time to blow-dry my hair."

"And I didn't have time to brush my teeth or change my underwear." Naruto declared.

"That's disgusting Naruto." I said not even bothering to open my eyes. There was a poof near my head and when I opened my eyes I see an amused Kakashi-sensei.

"Good morning everyone, sorry for being late. I'm afraid I got lost on the path of life."

"You liar!" Naruto and Sakura yelled out in unison.

"Come on Akina we have something important to talk about." Kakashi-sensei said as he jumped down. I wondered what he wanted to talk to us about as I followed his lead and joined the rest of my squad.

'_Maybe it's about the chunin exam?'_ I thought as I waited for him to speak.

"I know it's a bit sudden but I recommended you for the chunin exam, all four of you. These are your application forms." Kakashi announced as he gave each of us our slips of paper.

"Application forms?" Sakura said confused.

"You're repeating me Sakura. This is all voluntary; it's up to each of you. If you don't feel ready then you can wait until next year."

"All right! Kakashi-sensei you rock!" Naruto shouted as he launched himself at Kakashi-sensei.

"Don't slobber on my vest!" Kakashi shouted as he quickly removed Naruto from him.

"For those of you who wish to take the exam just fill out the application form and go to room 301 in the academy at 3pm five days from now. We wont be having any missions or training until then so take this time to get yourselves prepared." Kakashi announced before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

'_We waited for three hours for him to give us this?'_ I thought looking down at the form.

"Akina I'm so excited! We're totally gonna ace this thing, believe it!" Naruto shouted as he jumped up and down in front of me.

"Of course we are, we're badasses." I said confidently holding my right hand up, Naruto giving me a high-five.

"Now how about we get some training done today?' I asked and Naruto nodded his head harder than usual, his excitement still radiating off of him.

"Can I join you?" Sasuke asked. Naruto and I stopped walking, surprised he asked. Before Naruto could say no I covered his mouth and answered for us. "Of course you can Sasuke. Sakura would you like to join us?"

Sakura quickly recovered from her shock and agreed to come. "Yeah sure. I have nothing else to do anyway." I nodded and continued to walk towards the training grounds, Naruto mumbling 'traitor' under his breathe. I was actually excited; Sasuke seemed to be taking my advice on spending time with his teammates and helping them get stronger. I looked over my shoulder to take a glance at him. He had his eyes closed, as he walked with his hands in his pockets, but opened them when he could feel my gaze. I sent a small smile, of gratitude, his way and he quickly closed his eyes again. A slight blush of embarrassment barely noticeable. When I looked away from him I noticed that Sakura had stopped walking with us and she was just staring at the ground with a look of defeat on her face.

"Sakura are you coming?" I asked worried.

'_What could she be thinking about that has her upset? Is she worried that she's not strong enough? Or is it something else?' _I wondered as she tried to cover her despair with a mask of happiness.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm coming." She said as she walked faster to catch up with us. I quickly looked at Sasuke and I knew that he saw behind her mask too. I decided that after practice I would speak to her to see if she would talk to me about it.

* * *

**Three hours later…**

We were all scattered around the training ground, panting from our exhaustion. When we came to the training ground we decided to work on our aim, then the tree climbing exercise, and then sparred against each other using only taijutsu. I won against Naruto and Sakura but it was a draw between Sasuke and I. The sun was still high in the sky, adding heat to our already hot bodies, but luckily there was a breeze still blowing to make it bearable. I was leaning against a tree, trying to cool down in the shade, drinking from my water bottle. Naruto was lying down on the ground, in the sun, looking like he was about to fall asleep at any moment. Sasuke was leaning against another tree, not showing how tired he was, drinking from his water bottle too. Sakura was sitting down against a tree playing with the blades of grass, her eyes not really concentrating on it meaning she was thinking about something.

'_Now I just have to get her away from the guys to get her to talk.'_ I thought as I tried to come up with a good reason to get her alone.

"I'm heading out." Sasuke announced as he gathered his weapons and turned to leave.

"Bye Sasuke." Sakura said but her voice sounded like she wasn't paying a lot of attention to him. I was really worried now because usually she would be begging him to do something her but she just sat there not looking at him walk away. Even Sasuke was bewildered by her expression and looked me with the look 'what's wrong with her?' I simply and shrugged my shoulders and made a signal to tell him to go on. He nodded his head and turned to leave. I looked at Naruto and saw that he had indeed fallen asleep on the ground, his soft snores filling the silence. I walked over to Sakura and sat down next to her.

"What's up Sakura?" I asked.

'"N-Nothing, I'm fine." She said trying to feign confusion but I saw right though it.

"Sakura you've been spaced out ever since Kakashi-sensei gave us our applications earlier. Is there something you want to talk about?" I asked getting straight to the point. Sakura let out a sigh of surrender before she answered.

"It's just that…I don't think you guys really need me." I was stunned.

"Why would you feel like that? You're a great asset to the team." She scoffed at that.

"No I'm not, I've never really done anything on the missions. Back in the Land of Waves I basically just stood around and watched you guys do all of the work. You guys were the ones to get Kakashi out of the water prison. You and Sasuke were the ones to fight off the chunin after we thought Kakashi died. Naruto has grown so much with his clone jutsu and I just feel…"

"Left behind?" I finished for her. She nodded her head in agreement and continued to look down in her lap.

"Sakura you do more than you think." She looked at me like I grew a second head, making me smile a little. "You have the best chakra control out of all of us, you're basically the smartest girl I've ever met, and you help to the balance the team out. You are important to this team Sakura whether it's in action or watching from the sidelines you are important to us." Sakura looked at me in surprise before she smiled, her eyes no longer clouded by negative emotions.

"Thank you for that Akina. I think I needed that."

"Anytime Sakura. But if you're really not sure about the Chunin Exam then don't do it. It is a personal choice and we will never hold it over you if you don't want to come with us, we will support you as your teammates and friends." I added. She nodded and stood up.

"Thank you for being so nice to me Akina. That means a lot." She said with seriousness and sincerity. I stood up with her brushing some of the dirt off my pants.

"No problem Sakura. Anytime you need it."

"I have to go now my mom needs me to get some things for dinner. I'll see you guys later okay?" I nodded at her and watched her walk away. I was happy that Sakura that Sakura opened up to me and let me help her; she really was a nice girl under that temper of hers. I walked over to Naruto and lightly kicked him in the head.

"Ow!" Naruto shouted, rubbing his head.

"I didn't hit you that hard." I said amused at how he can exaggerate things.

"How would you know you weren't the one that was kicked." Naruto pouted as he stood up, still rubbing his head.

"Will the baby feel better if I buy you some ramen?" I asked and immediately Naruto froze and began jumping up and down.

"Yes! Let's go Akina." He yelled grabbing my hand, dragging me behind him.

'_Good thing I always have enough money on hand for the 10+ bowls he always needs to have.'_ I thought regretting my words.

* * *

**Sasuke is finally learning to be a team player! Thank you for reading this and I hope you guys enjoyed it. As ****always review, an actual review, and be on the look out for more.  
**


	21. Origins

**Hey everybody! Here is the new chapter where we get to explore the history of the Yukitos and Akina gets to learn a jutsu. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter because I had a lot of fun creating the clan history. I think this was my favorite chapter to write! Please enjoy.**

* * *

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

I groaned in frustration as I tried to blindly turn my alarm clock off. After a minute of searching I found the right button, rewarding me with silence and a ringing head. I simply laid in my bed for a few minutes before deciding it was time to open my eyes before I accidentally fell asleep. I looked straight at the red glowing numbers of my alarm clock.

"7:30. Time to get up." I said sluggishly.

'_I have four days to get prepared for this exam. I need to amp up my jutsu arsenal.__' _I thought as I got up and got prepared. For my training outfit I decided to put on my form-fitting black pants that went down to right above my knees, which allowed a lot of movement for flexibility, and a gray tank top with a built-in sports bra. While I was in the bathroom I grabbed my roll of bandages, for when I decided to move on to taijutsu, and walked out to go to my closet. Hidden at the very back of it was the bag the Hokage had given me, what feels like a long time ago, that was filled with scrolls my mother prepared for me. I pulled it out and went to sit at my desk, which was clear of my usual mess, and placed the bag on it. I went through the bag trying to decide where I should start when a large envelope fell out of the bag and landed on the floor. I reached down to grab it and when I turned it over to read the front of it I stopped breathing. Written on the front of the envelope was my name, in my mother's handwriting. My body was tense from the overwhelming emotions of love, loss, and longing. With slightly shaky hands I carefully opened the envelope and took out the stack papers that were neatly folded inside.

'_Dear Akina,_

_ I__'__m so sorry. I hoped the day would never come when I would have to leave you all alone at such a young age, but I know that you will be safe and protected. I prepared this bag for you in case something has happened to our clan to help you understand our kekkai genkai and the history of our clan. I also have packed scrolls of Justus I know you will be able to master on your own when you're ready. The other pages that go with this letter explains how our family came to be so read it well and embrace you're spirit._

_I love you forever and always in this world and the next,_

_ Mom_

My hands still trembled as I kept rereading the letter, the familiar writing bringing tears to my eyes and down my cheek.

"I love you too mom." I whispered as I carefully folded the page back and placed it back in the envelope. I placed the rest of the letters down as I went back onto my bathroom to wash my face. When I returned, with my emotions back in check, I grabbed the rest of the pages and began to discover the history of my people.

_It is said that when the sun goddess, Amaterasu, banished the moon god, her brother Tsukuyomi, to a different part of the sky, to never see him again, he became very lonely. One night when the moon was high in the sky he heard a heartbreaking melody carry across the wind through his palace. It was so mournful that Tsukuyomi became very curious as to what made the creature so depressed. On top of a nearby mountain he discovered an Okami spirit howling. Her coat had beautiful mixtures of white and gray almost as if she was the moon itself in a wolf__'__s body. But her eyes were the same shade of purple you see when the sun was about to set and the stars were slightly visible. Tsukuyomi approached her and asked her what made her so sad._

'_I am sad because the village below killed my pack. They thought we had been eating the cattle that have gone missing and attacking humans when it was actually the Oni who had taken our appearance. I was hunting when they were attacked and now I am the only one left.'_

_Back then to kill an Okami spirit meant that the killers would receive divine retribution for their action._

_Tsukuyomi was angered when he heard the tale, so he went down to the village and demanded that the killers show themselves to him. Nine farmers, with trembling legs, walked forward and the oldest of the men tried to justify their actions._

_'Oh Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto we were trying to save the livestock we have from the Okami spirits. They were eating them every night and almost ate a couple of the adults.'_

_'Have they ever attacked before?' Tsukuyomi asked._

_'No. The spirits usually protect our crops from the wild animals nearby. But one night they just went crazy, killing everything in sight.'_

_'Did you not try to find out if it was actually them committing these crimes and not some other beast?'_

_'There are no other beasts that could so great spirit.' The man said with confusion._

_'But there are you fool. You have been attacked by Oni spirits who had taken on the forms of the wolves so that they could get close enough to eat your live stock without causing alarm.' The villagers then realized their mistake and bowed to Tsukuyomi begging for forgiveness. _

_'Oh please great spirit is there anyway we can pay for our foolish actions?! We will do anything you require of us.' Tsukuyomi thought for a moment until an idea came to him._

_'For the reckless killing of the Okami spirits you will erect a shrine in their honor at the base of their mountain with their ashes inside. Every full moon you will make an offering of incense, meat, and crops while giving a prayer. You will honor the Okami spirit that still lives on the mountain by offering a couple of your dogs to help rebuild her pack. I will be watching every moon so if the offering doesn't happen I will destroy this entire village is that understood?' The people of the village immediately agreed and immediately began to recover the bodies of the wolves and begin the cremation process. A couple villagers who owned dogs picked the ones who had some wolf-blood in them to help them adjust to the wild. Tsukuyomi went back to the mountain and told the Okami what he did._

_'Thank you Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto! You have done so much for me I am in your debt.' The she-wolf bowed to him. Tsukuyomi was very captured by this creature and asked for her name._

_'I am called Hiroko.' She answered._

_'To repay your debt to me you will visit me once a month in my home and sing for me.' Hiroko agreed and went to go retrieve the dogs from the village. As the months went by the villagers had kept their end of the bargain. After they completed the large shrine, two weeks after they made the deal, they had brought meat, incense, and crops with prayers. Tsukuyomi was always watching to remind them of the consequences. During those months the Okami pack now had 8 members; the villagers had offered Hiroko three males and two females who had some wolf in their blood. Unknowingly, one of the females had been pregnant and gave birth to two pups. Which Hiroko was very excited about._

_Every month Hiroko had gone to Tsukuyomi's palace in the sky and sung for him, he never had a preference to a song so she always sung whatever she was feeling or what has recently happened. Tsukuyomi enjoyed the company he had when she visited and waited for the day when she would visit again. Sometimes after Hiroko was done singing he would invite her to stay for dinner or to talk. One night, the snow had already began to fall, when Hiroko was coming to sing Tsukuyomi decided that he wanted to ask her to stay with him in his castle and be his wife. Hiroko arrived and went to the small hall Tsukuyomi had set up for just them but when she walked in she was shocked. Laying on a few small sitting pillows was a large black wolf who had white accents around the eyes, a white circle on the forehead, and both of his back legs where white on the bottom half. _

_'Hello Hiroko.' Tsukuyomi said amusingly. Hiroko was still in shock and couldn't speak for a few moments and Tsukuyomi watched her and waited._

_'What is going on Tsukuyomi-san?' Hiroko asked confused, shifting her weight out of nervousness. _

_'Come in the room and then we can talk.' He answered motioning to another pile of pillows that were sitting across from him. Slowly Hiroko made her way to the pillows and took her time lowering herself down on them. Trying to be aware of her surrounding and Tsukuyomi._

_'I have something I wish to ask of you Hiroko.' Tsukuyomi stated._

_'Is it about my songs Tsukuyomi-san? I can change them if you would like or is there something you needed that I can get for you?'_

_'Would you accept me as your mate?' Tsukuyomi asked. Hiroko tensed up from shock and stood up, pacing the room to try and get her thoughts together._

_'But, why Tsukuyomi-san? I am just an Okami I cannot take on the form of two feet like you can. Why would you want to spend your days with me as a wolf?' Tsukuyomi stood up from the pillows, his large size more emphasized when he saw that her head just reached his shoulder, and slowly walked towards her. _

_'It does not matter to me what form I must take and I wouldn't want to change yours in the slightest. Ever since I was banished here by my sister centuries ago I have been very lonely in this palace. I've had other gods come and go but I have never desired their company like I desire yours. Ever since we have met I have been even more lonesome than all of those centuries put together, especially after you leave to go back to your pack. Which is why I wish to ask you to be my wife. Will you accept?' Tsukuyomi walked towards Hiroko and nuzzled the left side of her face with occasional licks here and there. Hiroko had a feeling she would pass out so she stiffly sat down while Tsukuyomi waited for her to respond. _

_'You know that I will not be able to live as long as you Tsukuyomi-san. Yet you still want me?' She asked. Tsukuyomi pulled back from nuzzling her neck and stared straight to her eyes, her purple eyes clashing against his silver._

_'I am aware of that and that only makes me want to ensure that whatever time we may have together will be happy and wonderful. If you would let me.' Hiroko still stared into Tsukuyomi's eyes and saw nothing but truth in his eyes and determination. She nuzzled her head under his and licked his face._

_'I accept.' _

_Within the next few days Tsukuyomi and Hiroko became mates, their bond more different than any bond between any other Okami mates. Each knew what the other was feeling and they could even enter each other's mind and see what the other was seeing. They could share things with each other without any vocal communication no matter where the other was. _

_Two months later, on the night of a full moon, Hiroko gave birth to five pups; two girls and three boys. Tsukuyomi was overjoyed to have children of his own and Hiroko was happy that she was able to give them to him. Four months after they were born though something happened that both parents didn't predict. The pups transformed into human children, like their father had done to be with Hiroko. When their children grew and found their mates despite whether they mated with another wolf or person the child retained their wolf spirit. Possessing the ability to change from one form to another in the blink of an eye, also attaining a longer lifespan than the average person. People called them 'Okami no kodomo-tachi', wolf children. Eventually as time went on and chakra was brought into the world the descendants of Tsukuyomi and Hiroko came together and created a clan. _

_Their leader was Akane Yukito, the first alpha of the pack. From then on they were known as the Yukito clan and became widely known for their abilities as the great nations established themselves and the world gained stability. Originally Akane settled the clan in what is currently known as the Land of Wolves, located east to the Land of Water and south of the Land of Iron. The land was decorated with large mountains and an array of wildlife and plants that helped the Yukito to thrive and eventually create their own shinobi village, taking control from the Daimyo from the Land of Lightning. Decades after establishing the shinobi village conflicts rose from neighboring nations who wished to take the land from us to gain the natural resources. Consequentially the battles desecrated the land and it's ecosystem forcing the Yukito clan to find a home elsewhere. _

_Akane's oldest grandson Shizuko, who became the next alpha, made a deal with the Land of Earth, much similar to the deals that were being made with other clans and villages. He offered the clan's loyalty to the village in return for a piece of land for the clan to live on without being disturbed by outsiders who didn't have permission. An agreement was made and the Yukito moved their remaining members to the forest that existed within the mountain ranges closest to the village. Like their Okami ancestors the Yukito clan flourished in the rocky terrain that made up the Iwagakure, benefiting the village's military strength and economic growth. _

_When the Third Shinobi World War occurred the Yukito clan suffered many losses since they made up a large force of Iwagakure's force. Once the treaty was signed with Konohagure part of the agreement was that a few members of the Yukitos would move to Konoha to help train the Inuzuka family with their wolves and join Konoha's force. Because of this split there were now two alphas in the Yukito family; one in Konoha, one in Iwagakure. The distance between the two packs created a rift in the wolves' personality and beliefs but when one of each crossed paths they still regarded each other as family._

I was both amazed and proud of my family's history. To say we were descendants of the moon god was something I did not expect. I took a moment to take in all of the information I've just read when I looked at my alarm and saw that it was almost 9:30.

"I need to go and train." I said as I carefully folded the papers back into the envelope and looked inside the bag again. There were about ten scrolls in the bag and I had no idea which one I should start with. But I had this feeling in my chest, something was telling me to pick two of the scrolls. I decided to listen to this feeling and grabbed the two scrolls and read their names.

'_Earth Style: Pack Ambush Jutsu and Ninja Art: Human Spirit Transformation. I guess these are the ones I will start with.' _I thought as I grabbed my own bag and placed the two scrolls inside. I quickly fixed myself a lunch box for later and grabbed an apple to eat on my way out. When I reached the training grounds no one was there, which I was thankful for since I didn't want anyone to see what I was working on. I sat down in front of one of the wooden posts, the one that Naruto had been tied to, and opened the Ninja Art scroll.

'_Ninja Art: Human Spirit Transformation is a jutsu that allows the user of Yukito blood to take on characteristics of their wolf spirit. The user gains a dramatic increase in senses, physical strength, and speed. To master this technique the Yukito must be completely in tune with your spirit in order to increase the amount of time they can use this technique._

_For first-time users they must find their spirit within them through the use of meditation. Once the spirit is awakened there will be tingling sensations all over the users body but it will settle down within a few minutes.'_

"This doesn't seem too bad, except for the fact that I still feel clueless." I said as I got into a meditative stance. I took both of my ninja sandals off and crossed my legs indian-style, with both of my feet resting on my knees, and placed my down in my lap in a relaxed manner. I breathed in and out deeply and slowly, the world around me seeming to become nonexistent. I felt a change in the atmosphere I knew that I was still outside but I knew something was different. I opened my eyes and gasped in shock. I was back in the forest from before when I had been unconscious on the bridge. I recognized the small clearing surrounded by the large forest that seemed slightly spooky.

"Hello?" I called out wondering if the voice from before was still here. Silence was my only reply. I stood up and walked around the perimeter of the clearing, wondering if I did something wrong. A shadow moved across the trees but I couldn't tell what it was. I stopped walking and waited for the shadow to move again. The figure ran through the trees around the small clearing and seemed to want something.

'_Does it want me to follow?'_ I thought. The figure kept leaping back in forth to, what seemed like the northern, direction of the clearing. I decided to try to follow it even though the trees were still too dark for my liking. They almost reminded me of the forest behind my house when I was little.

'_Come on Akina, don't chicken out now. They may look similar but they're not. Just follow the figure and focus on that.'_

Swallowing back my anxiety and fear I ran into the dark forest after the figure and for a second I thought I saw the branches move away from each other but I couldn't tell for sure. The figure was so fast I could barely keep up with it; the darkness the tree branches provided didn't help much either. After what felt like an hour of running I saw what seemed like a field coming into view.

'_Finally let me out of this forest.'_ I thought as I saw the figure run onto the field. Before I entered I stopped running so that I could let my eyes adjust from being in the dark forest. I slowly entered the field and stopped when my eyes fully adjusted to the light. Sitting in the middle of the large field was a lake with a large tree that hung over the surface. It seemed like the mysterious figure disappeared since no other person or animal was here. I walked towards the lake, taking note of how crystal clear it was. I could easily see that the lake was only a few feet deep with some plant life living at the bottom. The tree was large, it was a mountain compared to me, and the large diameter suggested that it was very old. What was odd about the tree though was the bright blue flower buds that were growing from it.

'_I've never seen any flower start off like this.'_ I thought as I reached for one, that was on a low-hanging branch. When I touched it I felt like had I shocked myself because the plant was so cold compared to my warm body temperature.

'_How is this possible? No flower should feel as cold as ice.'_ I thought as I rubbed my finger. The hair on my arms and neck rose up as I felt a presence behind me. I slowly turned my head around but it wasn't a person standing behind me, it was a wolf. The wolf was about as tall as my waist with a beautiful dark coat that matched my hair. On its back legs the black hue slowly transitioned into the pure white at the feet. Its eyes were exactly the same shade as mine; dark violet, the same shade you see when the sun is about to set.

"You are my wolf spirit." I stated more than asked. The wolf nodded her head and walked towards the lake, staring into it. I followed her and looked into the lake as well. I saw nothing but the water and the plants.

'_What is she looking at?'_ I thought as I was about to ask her but I felt her jump onto my back, pushing both of us into the water. I expected my back to hit the rocks but I only felt the water surrounding me, and a strange sensation take over my body, stopping my attempts to swim back to the surface. It started at my tailbone and slowly spread up to the top of my skull. The tips of my fingers and toes started to tingle and slowly spread upwards. My entire body felt like it was vibrating with this feeling of change.

'_How come I don't feel the need to breathe?' _I thought as I realized I had been under the water for a few minutes without feeling the constricting need for oxygen. The tingling feeling started to fade away and I feel my body come back under control. I swam back to the surface feeling something different in my movements.

'_Did it work?'_

* * *

**Sorry that I made this shorter than usual but I felt like this was the place to end this. As always please review/pm me with your thoughts and/or feelings about this chapter or the story in general. I hoped you guys liked how I incorporated aspects of shinto religion in the history section and I'm sorry to those who think I butchered it. I'm going to put some links on my profile to the sites I used to base the history off of. Enjoy the rest of your day and good luck to those who have finals coming up soon!**


End file.
